Samurai Heart
by Azure Dragon of the East
Summary: Ronin Warriors x-over. an ancient king has returned and seeks someone precious to Jaden. Now a new group of Ronins must arise. JxA
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX or Ronin Warriors (Yoroiden Samurai Troopers)_

Prolouge: the Prophecy 

_Torch of Spirit, sought through five, _

_Drinking strength from immortal fire, _

_Darkest prison sheds the light, _

_Churning beneath a swirl of salt, _

_Burning within a throne of rock, _

_Floating amongst the eyes of ages, _

_unmoored in the stream of the sky _

_A fallen king shall return ro the world of man,_

_His army will seek out his most coveted treasure,_

_Nine will stand against him,_

_And in its darkest hour,_

_One will shine like the sun_

This is an idea I had while I was going through my old cards then seening an old episode of Ronin Warriors. I got bored and figured "what the hell." Tell me if I should continue this. if you say yes, here's who it's gonna be:

Jaden Yuki – Wildfire

Tyranno Hassleberry – Hardrock

Chazz Princeton – Halo

Atticus Rhodes – Torrent

Aster Phoenix – Strata

If you have any complaints or suggestions for changes, feel free to let me know.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: the people have spoken. They want this story and so shall it be.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX or Ronin Warriors. I would like to say this is my way to comemorate the Ronin Warriors (Yoroiden Samurai Troopers) 20__th__ anniversery. Congratulations! _

_**ABC**_ = scene breaks (I used the lyrics from the opening theme.)

Chapter 1

Duel Academy, a school owned by the Kaiba Corporation with the primary focus of shaping young adults into the pro duelists of tomorrow. At first glance, it seems like a normal school. As long as you overlook that over the past two years, a small band of people tried to resurrect 3 powerful demons and a possessed psychic brainwashed over half the student body to serve the cause of an extraterrestrial force hell-bent on destroying everything it comes in contact with.

_**Ken o kazashite inazuma atsumetara (Holding the sword overhead collecting lighting)**_

_Chancellor's office_

A man stood before a large desk. He was tall about 6' 4", slicked back dirty blond hair and piercing green eyes. He was garbed in a dark gray business suit with a black tie. One could tell he was obviously a playboy.

"Well, I must thank you again for your generous donation, Mr. Avalon," said Sheppard.

"The pleasure was all mine." The man said in a British accent. "Besides, I needed to make some more room for my dear Lancelot."

"Lancelot?"

"Yes, he is my precious pet grizzly bear."

"You have a bear as a pet?"

"Of course, don't you?"

Shepard sweatdropped and shook his head "no". As Mr. Avalon left Sheppard couldn't help but think _'Rich people are weird. Who has a pet bear?!'_

_**My heart kodoku ga hikaru (My heart shines with loneliness)**_

_In the halls_

Alexis, Mindy and Jazz were walking down the hall to their next class.

"I heard that Art P. Avalon is visiting here," said Jazz.

"Who's he?" asked Mindy

"He's this billionaire businessman from England. Word has it that he's a nut on Arthurian legend."

"Arthurian? What does that mean?"

"Arthurian is all the tales and mythology about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table," said Alexis.

"Oh"

As the three turned the corner, they were so preoccupied with their gossip that they failed to notice the man coming from the other side. As usual result they crashed into each other, knocking Alexis down.

"I'm terribly sorry, I didn't see you there. Here, let me help you up," said the man, offering his hand to Alexis.

"Thanks" Alexis accepted the hand and was lifted to her feet. The man looked at Alexis and let out an inaudible gasp.

'_Can it be? Is it possible that it's her?'_

"(squeal) OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH, It's him Alexis! That's Mr. Avalon!" Jasmine went into gaga mode.

"Wow, he's so dreamy!" Mindy followed suit.

Avalon turned from Alexis to the two swooning girls then back to the former.

"So, your name is Alexis? A fine name for such a beautiful young lady," Avalon said in a suave manner and kissed Alexis on the hand. Alexis gave a slight blush at the man's gesture and compliment.

"Oh, um thank you, sir."

"Please call me Arty."

"Hey Lex!" a boy's voice called out.

The small group turned to the source of the voice. It was Jaden Yuki, the top duelist on campus.

"Oh hey Jaden."

"How's it going?" Jaden then notices the other person with them. "Hi there, how ya doin'?"

"Jaden this is Mr. Avalon. He's visiting the Academy," said Alexis.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"That sounded like Syrus," said Jaden.

The said boy came running down the hall like he had the devil on his heels.

"J-J-JA-JADEN, THERE'S A T-TI A TI-T-T-T-T-TI-T-TI-TI!" Syrus

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Sy, Sy calm down. Take a deep breath."

Syrus did as he was told. Big inhale then exhaled

"THERE'S A TIGER!"

"A tiger?"

As if on cue, a large white tiger leaped at the group. It let out a loud roar and tackled Jaden to the ground. Everyone turned away so they wouldn't see their friend mauled by this 300-pound animal. However, they started to hear laughter rather than screams for help. They turned their eyes back to see the tiger was licking him affectionately.

"Hahahahahahaha, come on! Cut it out! That tickles! Hahaha! Down boy! Heel! Sit!"

The tiger backed off to give Jaden some air. The others were, to say the least, stunned.

"Aw man, it's good to see ya, boy. How've you been?" Jaden scratched the tiger behind the ears.

"Uh Jaden?" Jazz started. "How is it you're friends with a tiger? Is this your pet or something?"

Jaden only responded with a "yeah".

"You have a pet tiger? How in the hell do you have a pet tiger?"

"It's a long story, I'll tell you later."

"How did he get here?"

"There _were_ reports of some odd sounds coming from the hold of the ship. I bet he must have stowed away." Avalon deduced.

"Well, White Blaze always was pretty smart."

"White Blaze?"

"Yeah, that's his name," Jaden said pointing at the tiger. Jaden then noticed that almost everybody was a little nervous of his large feline friend. The only one who wasn't was Avalon.

"You can pet him. He won't bite. Think of him as a regular house cat." Jaden looked at White Blaze and added "Only a little bigger."

Alexis was the first to approach. She slowly moved her hand to the top of the tiger's head. When she reached the spot, she slowly and gently stroked the beast's head. In response, White Blaze let out a purr. Alexis took this as a sign that he meant no harm and knelt down to pet him some more. Soon Mindy and Jazz joined their friend. Syrus stayed back, still a little nervous around the tiger.

"I heard a noise, is everything alright out here?" Sheppard voice came from down the hall. When he reached the group he was stunned at what he found almost everybody was gathered around a white tiger. The strangest part was they didn't seem afraid of it.

"Can someone explain what's going on here?"

_**Nani o mesasebaii (What should I aim for)**_

_Chancellor's office_

"Hehehehe, friendly fellow, isn't he?" Sheppard was scratching White Blaze behind the ear, earning a purr from said tiger.

"So Jaden, this big fellow is your pet?"

"Yeah, White Blaze and I have been buds for a long time."

"How did this come to be?" Sheppard asked. It wasn't everyday someone you knew had such an exotic pet.

"It was about 3 years before I came to Duel Academy; my dad was photojournalist and traveled the world. He took me with him on trip to the Himalayas. That's where I found this guy." Jaden indicated the tiger by rubbing the side of its neck. "He was still a cub when I found him, probably about a week old. Poor guy's mother was shot by hunters and he was starving to death. So I took him with me and nursed him back to health. He took a shine to me and we've buds ever since."

"Didn't your parents object to the idea of having a tiger as a pet?"

"At first, yes. But…" Jaden reaches into his pocket and pulls out a photo with a newspaper clipping paper clipped to the back. "They just couldn't say 'no' to that face." He shows them a picture of him when he was younger while holding a tiger cub.

"CUUTE!" Mindy squealed.

Alexis took the news clipping and read it aloud. "Residents of a Domino neighborhood were awakened early this morning by the sounds of a man calling for help from atop a power pole and the roars of a large Siberian tiger at the bottom. When local authorities arrived at the scene, the large animal backed away to allow them to get the man down. It was then discovered the man was identified as Sid Richards, a man suspected by police for several charges of breaking and entering, armed robbery, grand theft auto and various other offenses but lacked evidence to indict him. However, with the recovery of a large bag containing various stolen items belonging to the residents of the neighborhood, as well as finding Richards fingerprints on the items and bag, police officials had enough evidence to convict Richards. The tiger, 2-year-old White Blaze, owned by the Yuki family has been honored as local hero. Richards is facing a 20-year sentence in prison.' So we have a town hero in our midst."

"I remember that night, White Blaze tore out the seat on the guys pant's."

"Jaden, I don't think it would be a good idea to let him stay here." Sheppard said.

"Why not, you don't have a problem with Pharaoh and Wheeler."

"That's because Pharaoh is house cat and Wheeler is a monkey, not a 300-pound tiger."

"Come on, give him a chance. He only came here because he missed me, didn't you, boy?" White Blaze answered with a lick to Jaden's face.

Sheppard leaned back to think about it.

_**Dare o aishitaraii my love (Who should I love my love)**_

_Elsewhere _

A man stood before a portrait in a torch lit room.

'_It has to be her. I just know it'_ "Merlin."

An old bearded man appeared behind him.

"Yes, sire."

"Tell the men I have found her. Have them go to Duel Academy and retrieve a Ms. Alexis Rhodes."

"As you wish, my king," the old man said with a hint of reluctance on his face.

_**Kotae wa doko sa?(**__**Where's the answer?)**_

_Slifer Red Dorms_

Jaden and White Blaze sat on the grass just outside the Slifer dorm. He was still a little surprised Sheppard let White Blaze stay. It might have been due to Crowler barging in, seeing the tiger then screamed like a little girl that was heard across the entire island. Jaden committed that one to memory. His friends' reactions to White Blaze were a little different than the one of the drag queen instructor of Obelisk Blue. Hassleberry, Atticus and Bastion nearly jumped out of their skin. Chazz wasn't as surprised as everybody else. Most likely because his rich family met a lot of other people with unusual pets. Pharaoh had no problem whatsoever, being a cat himself. He was brought out of his reverie by the sounds of screaming, crashing and the clanking of metal.

"What was that?"

_**Dare mo ga toui tabibito sa kono machi de wa (Anyone is a distant traveler at this town)**_

Three knights stood above Syrus and Hassleberry.

"You, peasants, where is the one named Alexis Rhodes?" one demanded pointing his sword at Syrus.

"What do you want her for?"

"That be none of thy concerns, now speak!"

At that moment, Chazz, Atticus, Bastion, and the target of the knights, Alexis appeared.

"Lex, get out of here! These guys are after you!" Syrus called out.

The knights turned there attention to the new arrivals.

"Alexis Rhodes, Thou art coming with us."

"I don't think so!" Alexis shouted back.

"Milady hath no choice in the matter."

The moment was interrupted by a rock hitting one of the knights in the head, knocking his helmet off, revealing no head. Theses knights were empty suits of armor.

"Hey, bucket heads! Why don't you pick one someone your own size?"

Everyone turned to see who it was. Surprisingly, it was Jaden with White Blaze by his side.

"Like thou?" the knight was clearly angry. They all charged towards the young Slifer.

_**Mayoigo ni naru ashita mo (Becoming like a lost child, tomorrow also)**_

_With Alexis and the others_

"Is Jaden out of his mind? Those guys armed to the teeth!" said Syrus.

He and Hassleberry took the opportunity to get away when the knights were focused on Jaden.

"I don't know but let's hope he has a plan." Alexis said, hoping Jaden will be okay.

_**Arukitsuzukerusa.... (I'll keep walking...)**_

Jaden dodged the numerous sword swings at his head.

"Careful, you could put someone's eye out with that thing." He taunted.

"Hold. Still. Knave." The knights said with each swing.

"Now why would I do that?"

"Fine, if thou desire to be difficult, then…" the knight held up hid hand and snapped his fingers. In an instant, 15 more knights appeared, ready for battle.

"Oh, boy"

"Thou shalt suffer the consequence for thine stupidity. I ask for thy name so that I may carve it upon yon tombstone."

"Well, since you asked. My friends call me Jaden Yuki." He pulls out a small orb with a kanji on it. In a bright red flash, Jaden's clothes were replaced by red and white body armor. The boots, gauntlets, lower region, and body being red, while everything else was white. "You, however, can call me Jaden of the Wildfire!"

Everyone was stunned at this odd development. The knights quickly regained their composure.

"Dost thou think a little suit will save thee? Thou art still unarmed whilst we are far well from that."

Jaden looked himself over. "You got a point there. Perhaps I should change into something more appropriate."

Before anyone could say anything, Jaden raised his hand high.

"ARMOR OF WILDFIRE… TAO-JIN!"

Tapestry scrolls unraveled around him and rose into the air. Once they reached their peak, they burst into sakura petals. Red samurai style armor was added to the armor he already had. Fins protruded from the forearms and added armor to the boots he had on before. The shoulders pads stuck out with blue marking. The body area having more red armor with the sides being partly blue. On his back were two swords with blue hilts and golden guards in black sheathes. He then held out his hand and let some of the petals gather into it. As he raised the hand up over his head. They then transformed into a red helmet with bladed horns and a mask. When he put it on, the mask split down the middle and slid to the sides to show his face.

A spotlight shined down on Jaden in his new armor as the remaining petals fell.

_**Kokoro wa samurai munashisa daku yoroi o (**__**The heart is a samurai, emptiness embraces the yoroi)**_

_With Alexis and the others_

To say everyone was stunned would be a huge understatement. It was absolutely mind-blowing at what they had just witnessed.

_**Nugisuteyou yuuki dake no suhada de (**__**Take it off, dress only in your bravery)**_

_Back at the battle_

Jaden reached behind him and drew his swords. He was now ready for battle.

"Who's first?"

One broke away from the group and wildly swung his sword. After four attempted strikes, Jaden charged forward and slashed the knight across the chest. A light burst from the armor and it fell to the ground. Another charged at him with an ax, but the young samurai countered by slicing off the knight's forearm then slashed across its side. Again a light shot out and the armor fell. And another shot forth with a spear. Jaden cut through the pole then across the wielder's chest. Two more attacked and were cut down. Jaden started to rethink his strategy. Even though he was powered up, he was still outnumbered. He then had an idea. He brought the two hilts together to form a bladed staff.

"Alexis, everybody, you better get away from here. I don't want you to get hurt from what I'm going to do."

Alexis was about to protest but her brother assured her Jaden knew what he was doing. When they had left, Jaden returned his attention back to the knights.

"Time to send you guys back to the scrapheap."

He jumped into the air and radiated with power.

"FLARE UP, NOW!"

He then brought his blades down in a slash. In a bright flash, the last of the knights were vaporized. Once the light had faded, the only evidence of the battle that had taken place was an enormous burnt crater and a deep cut across the ground, stretching from there to the ocean.

Jaden returned his swords back to their sheaths and removed his helmet. He let out a sigh of relief, the battle was more taxing then he thought. He turned to see his friends coming in his direction. When they stopped and took the damage he had caused, they were rendered speechless. Except for Syrus, he was babbling incoherently while pointing at Jaden then to the cut then back to Jaden over and over again.

The relative silence was broken when Atticus spoke up.

"I believe I speak for everybody when I say 'Jaden, you got some 'splaining to do."

A/N: finally first chapter is done. At some point later, the warlord armors will appear but I'm not sure who should it be and who gets what. Which do you think it should be and which armor should they get?

Bastion

Zane

Jesse

Jim

Axel

Syrus?


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX, Ronin Warriors or anything else except for the plot._

Chapter 2Slifer Red Dorms

"Alright slacker, start talking" Chazz demanded.

Jaden had stripped off the extra armor and returned to the body suit or his sub-armor as he calls it. The group was now sitting in the Slifer common room surrounding him while he scratched behind White Blaze's ears.

"First off, have any of you ever heard of the Ronin Warriors?" Jaden asked.

Everyone shook his or her head 'no'.

"Not surprising," Jaden took a seat, "The story starts about a thousand years ago. A demon emperor by the name of Tulpa tried to take over the human world. He almost did until a warrior known only as the Ancient appeared and defeated him. Tulpa's spirit was banished to the Nether realm but his armor remained in our world. The Ancient knew as long as his armor remained, Tulpa could come back again. So he took it and broke it down into nine separate armors. One of which was the one I was wearing, the Armor of Wildfire. Five of the armors draw their power from an element of nature while the other four draw their powers from the seasons. As a finishing touch, the Ancient applied a guiding trait to each armor so that whoever wore them would not be easily influenced by Tulpa when he returned."

Syrus raised his hand. "Question, did this Tulpa guy return?"

"Yeah, 20 years ago. But the previous Ronin Warriors put him down for good."

Bastion then raised his hand, "I've got a few questions, You said that each armor has a guiding trait, so what's yours?"

A glowing red kanji then appeared on Jaden's forehead, "Mine is Virtue"

"Alright, now how long have you had this armor?"

Jaden had a thoughtful look on his face. "About a week before I first came to the Academy. There was this big forest fire near my house. I went out to try and stop it but when I got there the fire started moving in a weird way. And then the Ancient appeared. He said he wanted to test me, to see if I was worthy. You guys know the results."

"Alright then, my last one is who are the other Ronin Warriors?"

"I don't know. When I first got mine, the Ancient said I was the first of the new generation. Right now, I may be the only Ronin there is."

"So, you've had this power all this time and you didn't use it once when Duel Academy was being invaded?" Alexis pointed out.

"It seemed a little extreme to use swords against people armed with only cards. On another note, every troublemaker we came across, even though they were possessed or brainwashed, they were still human. Besides, I don't think using my 'Wildfire Flare' to free you guys from the Society of Light would've been effective."

"He has a point there," Bastion said. _'Freed us? He would've killed us!'_

"So, you've got magic armor, big deal," Chazz said. _'It's not like we don't get enough of that hocus pocus around here. Now if it were Alexis…'_

Chazz's personal fantasy

An image of Alexis in a Sailor Moon-type outfit is seen striking a pose.

"Halt fiends, in the name of Obelisk Blue…"

Mindy and Jazz appear in similar outfits.

"We shall punish you!"

End of fantasy

'_Oh please, punish me!'_ Chazz thought with a deep blush and a goofy grin on his face.

"What's with Princeton? Is he sick or something?" Hassleberry asked.

"No, he's just off in his own little world… again." Bastion answered.

"Since we're done getting information out of me, I'll ask this: why were those walking trashcans after Alexis?" Jaden said.

"Now that is the million dollar question right there." Atticus said.

"Do you think they'll be back?" Syrus said.

"There's no doubt in my mind, private. That platoon was just the first wave, they'll be back with some major reinforcements."

Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi xDark chamber

"Sire, I have some unfortunate news," said Merlin.

"You were unsuccessful? How is this so?" the king asked.

"We were met with some resistance. 18 of soldiers were destroyed."

"How many are we up against?"

"Just one, but he was quite powerful."

"Hmm, very well then. Percival! Sagramore! Caradoc! Dagonet!"

Four figures in knight armor appeared. Each kneeled before their king with their helmets before them.

"What is your wish, my king?" one said.

"You four shall accompany Merlin to complete the mission given to him. Observe the warrior who opposes you then defeat him."

"It shall be done, my king!" they all said and then vanished.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Chancellor's office

"This is troubling," said Sheppard.

Jaden and the rest of the gang had finished telling their story to some of the faculty. Crowler was a little skeptic.

"Oh please, they're probably just making this up. I mean monster spirits are one thing but walking suits of armor and Jaden is some sort of samurai? Unless you have some evidence to back up your story, stop wasting our time."

Jaden let out a sigh, "Alright, but you might wanna step back."

Crowler did so with confusion on his face.

"ARMOR OF WILDFIRE… TAO JIN!

Once again, Jaden stood tall in his red armor. Crowler could only gawk at this strange development. He was broken out of his stupor by the Chancellor.

"Incredible! I had always heard stories about the Ronin armors but I never thought I would have the chance to see one."

It was Jaden's turn to be surprised. "You know about the Ronin Warriors?"

"Of course, I'm well versed in many legends."

"So does that mean you believe us now?" Syrus asked.

"While you have proved that Jaden has mystical armor, I have yet to see those knights you mentioned." Crowler was sure they couldn't produce that to support their story. However, like the old saying goes: 'speak of the devil, and he shall appear.' The door was busted down and two knights stormed in.

"Alexis Rhodes, thou art coming with us!"

"You guys again?" Jaden unsheathed his swords. "Lex, better get back."

The two knights charged. One went for an overhead strike with a sword. Jaden crossed his blades and blocked it. The other came from the side with a club. With his swords occupied with his first enemy, Jaden countered by kicking the club wielding knight's helmet off, revealing to everyone that they were just hollow shells. The headless knights stopped his advance and chased after his head, helmet, whichever you wanna call it. Seizing the opportunity, Jaden pushed the sword knight off balance and did an x slash across its chest. The usual flash of light shined from within the armor and it cluttered to the floor. The other knight, having recovered his head, charged again. Jaden blocked the knight's strike but his adversary pushed him back up against the desk. The teachers backed away from the two armored warriors. Feeling hard-pressed, Jaden planted his foot on the knight's abdomen and flipped it over himself and watch it crash through the window.

"Ooh, sorry about the window, Chancellor," Jaden winced then chased after his enemy.

Everyone rushed to the broken window to watch the battle below.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

"The boy is skilled."

"Indeed"

"Let us see how skilled he truly is."

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Jaden landed a few feet away from his opponent. Said knight then raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Once again more knights appeared, this time a total of 24.

"Your buddies tried the same thing, what makes you think it will work this time?"

They didn't answer and rushed the young Ronin. Wasting no time, Jaden connected the hilts of his swords together and jumped into the air. The knights halted and gazed up.

"FLARE UP, NOW!" he shouted then slashed down.

Within an instant, they were gone.

Jaden turned to see everyone sprinting out of the building towards him with Alexis in front.

"Are you alright?" she said. _'Wow, he looks handsome in his armor. Gah! Where did that come from?'_

"I'm fine, what about you guys? Is anybody hurt?"

Everyone made their own reply of assuring their friend they were unharmed. The sound of someone clapping caught their attention.

"Well, done young man. Your skills are quite impressive," said a male voice.

"Who's there? Who are you?" Jaden said.

"Up here." Everyone looked up to see 4 young men garbed in knight armor.

"We are those who serve his majesty, the king. I am sir Percival." The one who clapped said. He was a blonde haired man with green eyes. Next was man with slicked back brown hair and brown eyes.

"I am sir Sagramore." Next was another brunette with brown eyes.

"I am sir Caradoc." Finally, a man with black hair and blue eyes.

"And I am sir Dagonet." After their introductions, Percival spoke.

"You are indeed a great warrior; however, if you do not surrender Alexis Rhodes to us, we shall crush you without mercy."

"Never!" Jaden shouted. The others behind him joined him in refusal.

"Very well, the next time we meet will be your last." With that, the knights vanished.

"Those guys are in a different league then those guys I just fried." Jaden said in a serious and worried tone. "I'm gonna need help on this one. I'm gonna need to find the other Ronin Warriors."

"Yes, but first off we should make sure Ms. Rhodes remains safe. Therefore, Jaden, I'm assigning you as Alexis' bodyguard." Sheppard said in the same tone.

"What about when she has to go back to the dorms?" Ms. Fontaine asked. "A boy staying in the girls' dorms is strictly against the rules. So what'll we do about that?"

"I think I have an idea," Jaden said.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Atop the academy, oblivious to the group below. A man with long white hair dressed as a monk with a shakujo in his hand gazes upon them.

'_Young Jaden of Wildfire, your search for the other warriors is unnecessary. You have already found them.'_

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Obelisk Blue Dorms

Alexis sat in her room with Mindy and Jazz along with an unexpected guest, White Blaze. With the concern of more knights showing up to try and take her again, Jaden had suggested to keep his tiger friend close to her, just in case. She had told her two friends about the knights who came after her and Jaden donning his armor as well as its origins. They took it rather well; especially the fact Alexis now has a tiger for a temporary roommate.

"You have any idea why those guys were after you?" Mindy asked. She was currently sitting on the floor while petting White Blaze.

"None, but everyone thinks they might come back. That's why white Blaze is here."

"Sheesh! First you chosen to protect a spirit key, then you're hypnotized by some loony cult, now you're the target of some band of knights who want you for some unknown reason? What did you do to get so much attention?"

"Karma?" Alexis could only suggest.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

A/N: And another one down!

I still need more suggestions for the warlords. Also I'm thinking of changing the Strata Ronin from Aster to Bastion. What do you think?

Aster of Strata or Bastion of Strata? Choose!


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX or Ronin Warriors._

I've read your reviews and I'm proud to reveal the updated roster.

Jaden Yuki – Wildfire (Virtue)

Tyranno Hassleberry – Hardrock (Justice)

Chazz Princeton – Halo (Wisdom)

Atticus Rhodes – Torrent (Trust)

Bastion Misawa – Strata (Life Force)

? – Cruelty/Spring (Loyalty)

? – Corruption/Winter (Piety)

? – Venom/Autumn (Obedience)

? – Illusion/Summer (Serenity)

I still need a complete set for the warlord armors, so let me know. (Include all warlords) so, pick 4 people then pick which armor they get.

Aster

Zane

Axel

Jim

Jesse

Syrus (maybe)

Chapter 3Dark chamber

The king watched the previous battle with the red armored boy from a cauldron.

'_He is quite formidable,' _he thought.

He turned away from the cauldron and walked up to a portrait on the wall. From the figure and attire, the person was clearly a woman, but her face was blocked out by the shadows.

"Soon, my beloved, we shall be together again," he said to the portrait, "soon."

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Dream

Chazz finds himself in a field of flowers as far as the eye can see. Ahead, he could see Alexis with a big smile on her face waving to him.

"Come and catch me, Chazz," said dream Alexis as she ran away.

"Oh, Alexis, my sweet, I'm coming!" Chazz said, giving chase.

After what seemed like hours of running and laughing, Chazz finally caught her. However, she faded away then the field faded away afterwards. Now in nothing but darkness, a voice called out.

"Chazz Princeton, come and join me." The voice was cold and filled with malevolence. "I shall give you power and wealth beyond your wildest dreams."

Out of the darkness, an armored figure casually walked out. "What is your answer?"

"Chazz!" another voice called. He turned around to find Jaden in his Wildfire armor. "Don't do it, Chazz! We need to protect Alexis!"

"I can give you riches, power, anything your heart desires."

"No thanks," Chazz said, "Last time someone offered me that, I ended up brainwashed and did a lot of things I'm not proud of. No way in hell am I going to make that mistake again!"

Then a ringing sounded and the images vanished. Another ringing and sakura petals began to fall around him. A third one and now he could see what looked like a monk holding a staff walking towards him.

"_Chazz Princeton, you have shown great wisdom in your choice. You have passed this test,"_ the monk said.

"Test? What test? Just who are you?"

The monk said nothing. The ringing sound picked up again. Chazz noticed it was coming from the monk's staff, six rings clanging against each other, slowly at first then much more rapidly. The orb on top of the staff shined a golden light. The last thing Chazz saw before he woke up was a green-glowing kanji.

"What was that?"

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Obelisk Blue Dorm

Alexis was awakened by something nuzzling her cheek. She opened her eyes to see Jaden's pet tiger. She greeted the white beast with a pat on the head. It was a little strange at first for many of the students at the blue girls' dorm, having White Blaze as a guest. It took some time for Mindy, Jazz and Alexis to show them that he was as harmless as a kitten. Some are still a little pensive having a tiger in the dorm despite the assurance that he wasn't going to hurt anyone.

During classes, White Blaze would wait outside the door for Alexis. Sometimes Pharaoh would appear to keep him company. Alexis didn't have to worry much since Jaden was in most of her classes, she was guarded inside the room and outside. After a few days the students and faculty got use to the tiger waiting for Alexis and would occasionally pet him. She noticed today that Chazz seemed a bit spacey… more so than usual.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

"Percival, why don't you take the first strike?"

"Very well, I will. I shall take some knights with me to handle that boy. I will carry out the king's wish without fail."

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

"It's been a while since those walking trash cans showed up," said Alexis.

After classes, she, Mindy, Jazz and White Blaze decided to head back to the dorms, thinking it would be safer to stay inside.

"You know Lex, I can't help but feel jealous of you," Mindy said.

"Jealous? How?"

"This whole situation is like something out of a fairytale."

The other two girls and the tiger looked at her in confusion.

'_She reads way too many romance novels,' _the two girls thought.

"Hey, Lex!" the group turned to see Jaden coming their way. He greeted Jazz and Mindy then gave his tiger a friendly pet.

"Any sign of those knights?" Alexis asked.

"Nah, it's been quiet."

The sound of horse neighing caught their attention. Off to the side, they could see a man garbed in armor riding a horse. As he got closer, the man's features became more noticeable, blonde wavy hair and green eyes on a rugged face. Mindy and Jazz instantly had hearts in their eyes but Jaden and Alexis had more serious looks.

"Looks like I spoke to soon. Guess that's my cue to suit up?" Jaden took out his small orb.

'Virtue' a bright flash of red and Jaden was now in his sub-armor.

Jazz came up to Alexis. "Is that the armor you told us about?"

"Not yet"

The horseman stopped and looked at Jaden.

"I told you the next time we met it would be your last. Prepare yourself!"

With that, over two dozen knights appeared.

"These guys just don't learn. ARMOR OF WILDFIRE… TAO JIN!"

Tapestry scrolls unraveled around him and rose into the air. Once they reached their peak, they burst into sakura petals. Red samurai style armor was added to the armor he already had. Fins protruded from the forearms and added armor to the boots he had on before. The shoulder armor stuck out with blue marking. The body area having more red armor with the sides being partly blue. On his back were two swords with blue hilts and golden guards in black sheathes. He then held out his hand and let some of the petals gather into it. As he raised the hand up over his head. They then transformed into a red helmet with bladed horns and a mask. When he put it on, the mask split down the middle and slid to the sides to show his face.

A spotlight shined down on Jaden in his new armor as the remaining petals fell.

Mindy and Jazz looked on in awe.

"_That_ is the armor I told you about," Alexis said with pride.

Jaden reached behind and drew his swords. The horseman got off and drew his own sword. 3 knights charged forward but with a few quick slashes, Jaden made quick work of them. Light bursts from the armors and they became empty. 2 more charged with swords in hand. Jaden blocked their multiple swings. The knights got on either side of him and moved for a beheading strike. Jaden ducked and watched the two knights strike each other in the chest. Once again, light burst forth and the armors clattered. Jaden saw the rest all charge at once. Knowing he couldn't take them all, he connected the hilts together, signaling he was about to perform his sure-kill attack. Alexis saw this and moved her friends to get away. Unfortunately, the horseman saw this, too.

"Oh, no you don't."

He snapped his fingers and tall yardarm (or gallows, whichever you wanna call it) shot out of the ground. A noose also shot out, wrapped around Mindy's wrists and dragged her up off the ground.

"Mindy!"

Jaden growled at this development. If he tried to do his Wildfire Flare, Mindy would be incinerated. With no other choice, he split his swords apart and prepared to defend himself.

Mindy watch below as Jaden fought the small army. She was startled when a hand covered her mouth. She turned to towards the owner to find… Chazz.

"Don't worry, I'll have you out of this."

Before he could go to work, a hand grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up to come face to face with the horseman.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that. It was a good try though, but not good enough."

The horseman eyed a well close by. The same well Chazz dived into to gather cards for a duel in the past. With all his might, the horseman threw Chazz through the air and right down the well.

"CHAZZ!" Mindy shouted.

Jaden had witnessed Chazz's attempt to rescue Mindy as well as his failure and 'flight'. Now he was even more determined to defeat the enemy.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

In the well

Chazz got up on his feet, groaning in pain.

"That was graceful," he said sarcastically.

"Chazz Princeton"

Chazz looked up. It was the monk from before.

"It's you, from my dream."

"Chazz Princeton, your desire to aid your friends is commendable. The power to do so is not beyond your grasp."

"How do I get it?"

"You already have it. Just calm your mind and search within yourself. There, you will find what is needed to call upon the power." With that, the monk vanished.

Chazz contemplated on what to do. Figuring he had nothing to lose, he closed his eyes and focused. Within his mind, he could see a small faint green light. He concentrated on that and the light grew brighter. His eyes burst open and a green glowing kanji appeared on his forehead

'Wisdom'

He raised his arms to the side and called out:

"ARMOR OF HALO… TAO CHI!

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

A bright surge of power erupted from the well, destroying it and nearly blinding everyone. Mindy felt something cut the ropes above her hands. She didn't fall even two feet before being snatched up in someone's arm. The light faded and Mindy looked up to see her rescuer was Chazz, garbed in green armor and wielding a no-datchi. When he landed he let Mindy go.

"You all right?" he asked.

"Yeah"

She took a better look at Chazz's new armor. It was slightly similar to Jaden's red armor. It was mostly green except for the underside of the arms, on the thighs and parts of the shins.. The chest plate was black up to the neck. Unlike Jaden's armor, the shoulder guards drooped over the arm instead of sticking out. The helmet had golden horn-like 'antennas' on the forehead, like in that anime "Gundam". In his hand was a huge sword. The guard was a four-point star. The blade was a bit odd, on the dull side, there was some sort of handle while on the sharp side, a small piece near the base jutted out and curved down into a hook.

"You better take cover. This is going to get messy," Chazz said and then dashed off to help Jaden.

"Uh yeah," Mindy simply said and took off in the opposite direction while she wistfully thought, _'My hero'_

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Jaden was completely surrounded by the empty husks of metal. Unsure of what to do, a voice echoed over the knights.

"Hey Jaden, Mindy's safe now! You can cut loose!"

Jaden turned towards Alexis and Jazz and motioned for them to take cover. Once they were far enough away, he connected the hilts together again and jumped into the air.

"Okay let's try this again. FLARE UP, NOW!"

He then brought his blades down in a slash. In a bright flash, all of the knights were vaporized.

The horseman was not pleased with this turnabout. He slowly made his advance towards Jaden, who was tired from all the fighting.

"Hold it"

The horseman turned around to find the boy he tossed away not too long ago.

"Attacking someone when they're down and tired is hardly honorable. If you want an opponent, then fight me!"

The horseman scoffed at the boy.

"Have it your way, stupid fool."

The horseman readied his sword and Chazz did likewise. The young samurai then charged forward but the knight blocked with his shield. Chazz backed off and then attacked again. The knight blocked with his sword. Chazz tried for three strikes but each was either blocked or dodged.

"You've gotten stronger but if you think you can beat me by just wildly swinging your sword, you're sadly mistaken."

Chazz realized he was getting nowhere.

'Just calm your mind and search within yourself. There, you will find what is needed to call upon the power.'

He recalled the monk's words. He took a stance and focused on his opponent and the task at hand. What he didn't notice were the clouds that seemed to form up above where he stood. Chazz raised his sword above his head and lightning began to flash in the clouds. One bolt shot down at Chazz's sword but did not shock him. The blade was covered from tip to base with glowing green power. The words Chazz searched for in his mind came rushing forward.

"THUNDER BOLT CUT!"

He swung his sword in a diagonal slash, launching a wave of energy at the horseman. The knight held up his shield to defend himself but when the wave struck, he was pushed back several feet before his shield was shattered and the attack hit him in the chest. After having been sent sailing through the air, the horseman landed, groaning in great pain.

"It seems I underestimated you. Rest assured, I will be back."

With that, he disappeared. Chazz relaxed and stabbed his sword into the ground.

"That was intense. So this is what you go through?" Chazz said, taking off his helmet.

"Yeah, but you know, you didn't do so bad for a first-timer." Chazz turned to see Jaden with his own helmet off, smiling at him proudly.

"Maybe, but I still need to work on my swordplay."

"I can help you with that. I'm well trained in swordplay."

"Jaden! Chazz!"

The two Ronins turned to see Alexis and her two friends coming back. When they got there Jazz and Alexis looked at Chazz in surprise.

"Whoa Chazz, what happened to you?" Jazz asked.

"He just became a Ronin Warrior," Jaden answered.

"Yup, and now that I have, you've now got double the protection, Lex," Chazz said proudly. White Blaze let out a small irritated roar.

"Alright, triple the protection." The tiger purred in satisfaction.

Syrus and everyone else came running towards them. Having seen the explosion caused by Jaden, they figured the knights had returned. They were pretty surprised when the saw what Chazz now wore. After having explained what happened, everyone decided to head back to the dorms.

"By the way, Jaden, how do I get this armor off?"

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

A/N: another down, this one took me a while.

I'm considering bringing in another anime to give Alexis and her friends powers to fight as well, but I'm not sure. I don't want her to seem like the damsel-in-distress type. If I do, which should I bring in?


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX or Ronin Warriors._

Chapter 3Dark chamber

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You got your ass handed to you! You're pathetic, Percival"

"Oh, shut up, Sagramore! At least I came back with some information."

"Is it something that may allow us to defeat those up-starts?"

"Yes, from what I can gather, their armors draw their power from the elements themselves. I'm not sure what the green one's power is but I do know the red one's."

"And what is that?"

"Fire. I noticed when he destroyed those soldiers, the ground was burned and there was a definite heat coming from the boy."

"If it is as you say, then his weakness should be obvious. I shall take care of this."

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Duel Academy

With all of the knights and strange things happening lately, Atticus decided to catch a few waves in hopes to calm his nerves. After about an hour he decided to do one last wave before calling it a day. Unfortunately, it was one too many and he wiped out. He pulled himself out of the water and onto his board.

"I came out here to relax a little but I can't help but wonder why those knights want my sister for. Well, since Jaden is with her I suppose I don't have to worry, even Chazz has that magic armor. Lex is in good hands."

"_You show a great deal of trust in your friends."_

"Who said that?" Atticus whipped his head around to find the source.

"_Perhaps, you don't need a test."_ With that the voice was gone.

"Okay, that was weird."

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

After his bizarre experience, Atticus headed back to the Slifer Red Dorm. The sight that greeted him was Jaden and Chazz outside with bokken (wooden swords) in the hands. Off to the side, Alexis, Hassleberry, Syrus and Bastion were watching the two train. Chazz looked to be a bit tired and frustrated. Jaden, however, looked completely fine.

"Very good but listen closely Chazz. Don't attack out of anger; you must make your mind like water."

"Water?"

"Water is clear and serene, when you make your mind like water; your moves will flow like a gentle stream or a raging river."

Atticus decided to let himself be known. "That's very Zen. Who taught how to fight like this anyway?"

"My dad did. He thought it might toughen me up, make a man out of me, you know the whole macho trip. Up until recently, I never thought would come in handy."

Jaden told Chazz they were taking a break now. Atticus spoke while Jaden drank some water.

"How's Chazz coming along?"

"He's a quick learner; he should be fine in the coming battles."

"We can only hope."

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Sagramore approached a small pond and gazed into the crystal waters.

"I am in need of your assistance my dear, to carry out the wish of my king."

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

After another hour of training, Jaden and Chazz called it a day. Atticus had been called to the Chancellor's office for something.

"So Jaden, when do you think the next armor will appear?" Bastion asked.

"Hard to say. Like I said before each armor has a different guiding trait, when a person who has one of those traits shows it the armor will seek them out. Or perhaps the Ancient will appear to test that person, like he did me."

"Does the Ancient look like a monk with a staff?" asked Chazz.

"Yeah, why? Did you meet him or something?"

"He appeared in a dream one night then later just before I got my armor."

Jaden began to think about the sudden appearance of the Ancient. While doing so, he failed to notice someone sneaking up on him. the person announced their presence by latching on to Jaden's arm.

"Hi Jaden!"

"Blair? What are you doing here?"

"Aw come on Jaden, don't you remember? At the Genex Tournament, Chazz may have beaten me, but they let me enroll here."

Jaden tried to think when that happened. While doing so he didn't see the slightly annoyed look Alexis was giving Blair.

"Don't bother trying to remember, Jaden," Chazz said, wiping the sweat from his forehead, "You were busy with Sartorius at the time."

Alexis noticed something behind Jaden and Blair and a little devious prank formed in her mind.

"Oh Blair, I don't believe you met Jaden's little pet, White Blaze."

"White Blaze?"

Blair turned around to come face to face with a large white tiger. The tiger let out a low roar. Blair paled and then fainted. After bringing her around, Jaden formerly introduced to his animal friend. She was a little troubled at first but she softened up when White Blaze showed how friendly he was.

Atticus noticed how exhausted Chazz and Jaden looked. After only three battles, one right after the other, and training for three days, they could use a little rest. And he had just the right idea in mind.

"You guys have done a lot. Perhaps a trip to the beach will help relieve some stress."

"Well, every soldier needs a little down time," said Hassleberry.

Mindy and Jazz agreed with him.

"I'll pass, thank you."

"Why?" asked Atticus.

"I'm right now researching the connection between those knights and why they want Alexis."

He turned to head back to the Ra Yellow Dorm. White Blaze let out a small growl and walked away with Bastion. Blair looked a little confused at what the young Ra meant by all that. Jazz and Mindy grabbed Alexis and Blair by the shoulder.

"Come on, we gotta go pick out some swim suits."

The girls took off to get ready for their day of R&R. While on their way, Blair began to plan of ways to capture Jaden's attention with showing off her sexy body.

(A/N: The following is my first beach scene.)

The boys were standing on the sandy beach waiting for the girls. Jaden was wearing red trunks with fire at the hem. Chazz wore black trunks with lightning bolts on the side. Atticus was in his usual Hawaiian shirt and shorts. Syrus wore plain green trunks Hassleberry had yellow trunks with dinosaur footprints on the side. Jaden was gazing out towards the sea.

"What a view."

"Sorry we're late!" Mindy said from behind.

Alexis wore a simple blue bikini. Jazz was in a green floral one piece. Mindy wore a yellow seashell pattern bikini. Blair was in a red bikini with little hearts. Jaden, Chazz and Syrus let out a deep blush. Needless to say, a woman's body is an even deadlier weapon than any sword the boys carried.

"Come on guys, let's have some fun!" Mindy said.

Alexis, Jaden, Atticus and Syrus were playing with a Frisbee. Jazz and Mindy were sun tanning. Chazz was taking a nap and Blair had buried him in sand, sculpted into the shape of a body builder. After an hour, Blair showed with two watermelons in tow.

"Hey, I got some watermelon."

"Sweet, how about a game of melon smashing?" Jaden said.

Syrus had asked to go first. As per rules, they blindfolded him then spun him around. After getting over his dizzy spell, he proceeded to find the melon. He couldn't make out what his friends were saying since they were all calling out to him at once. He stopped when he had a feeling he reached his target. He raised the bat up high and brought it down hard.

"Did get it?"

Syrus peeked from under his blindfold and all the color vanished from his face. He got a melon all right, Chazz's melon. Syrus could see the large lump on his head as well as the numerous tick marks.

"You're dead, Truesdale!"

Chazz bursts from his sand covering and chases Syrus around the beach, knocking over Hassleberry's sandcastle. After a few minutes of chasing him, Chazz had lost sight of Syrus. As he was looking, Mindy came up to him.

"Hey Chazz."

"Oh, Mindy. Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "I just haven't gotten the chance to thank you for saving me the other day."

"Oh that, don't worry about it.

Mindy only giggled as she came up and surprised Chazz by kissing him on the cheek.

"Thanks"

She took off to join the rest of their friends. Chazz just stood there with a stunned look on his face with a slight blush.

Alexis was sitting down with her knees in front of her chest as the waves lapped her feet. Jaden came up and sat down beside her.

"Something on your mind, Lex?"

"I'm fine, it's just that I'm grateful for what you and Chazz are doing for me."

"Don't worry about. No matter what, we will make sure nothing happens to you."

"Thanks Jaden." Alexis said with a warm smile. She began to take notice on how well built Jaden was. He had a faint six pack and a broad chest.

When they realized that they were staring at each other, they turned away quickly, both with a tint of red on their cheeks from embarrassment. Their day of rest was cut short when a small group of eight knights appeared, weapons at the ready. Chazz stepped forward.

"We come out here to relax a little and then they show up to ruin it."

Jaden came up to his side.

"Well, that's life."

Jaden and Chazz drew out their orbs and held them tightly.

"_Virtue"_

"_Wisdom"_

In two flashes of red then green light, the two were now in their sub armor. Blair was speechless at the sight she just witnessed. Jazz came up behind her.

"Just watch, you haven't seen the best part."

"ARMOR OF WILDFIRE… TAO JIN!"

"ARMOR OF HALO… TAO CHI!"

After an even brighter flash, Jaden and Chazz now stood proud and tall in the armors. If Blair was stunned before, she was absolutely flabbergasted now.

Jaden and Chazz readied their swords and charged forward. After a few minutes, the last of the empty husks fell. Jaden and Chazz felt that this victory over the enemy's latest attack was a little too easy. Tendrils of water shot out of the ocean and attempted to crush the two armored youths. A man with slicked back brown hair and brown eyes garbed in knight armor appeared on the cliff.

"Allow me to introduce the instrument of your defeat, the Lady of the Lake."

The sea churned as a woman made of water formed. She launched a few more tendrils of water at the Ronins, who avoided them. Jaden brought the two hilts of his swords together. He then jumped into the air and radiated with power.

FLARE UP, NOW!"

He then brought his blades down in a slash. The water mistress brought up a huge wall of water. Jaden's attack collided with the wall and the water evaporated but the enemy remained untouched. Jaden was caught off guard when a wave slammed into him from the side, sending him into the water. When he came up for air, he felt his strength was somehow sucked away from him. The knight saw the pained expression on the young Ronin's face and so did Atticus, who dove in to pull him out. The water woman waved her hand and a large whirlpool formed around them. The knight watched as Jaden and Atticus were pulled in.

"It appears I was right. Your armor draws its power from fire so, naturally your weakness is water."

"THUNDER BOLT CUT!"

Chazz swung his sword in a diagonal slash, launching a wave of energy at the knight. The knight saw the attack coming and jumped out of the way as the attack crashed into the sand. He landed away from Chazz with a scowl on his face, which then shifted to a smug grin.

"It seems you manifest your power in the form of lightning. Taking that in mind, I would advise you not to do that again."

"Why's that?"

"Your two friends are in water, and everybody knows that water is an excellent conductor. If you try to attack, you'll only hurt or, quite possibly, kill them."

Jaden and Atticus were then dragged down under the water by the whirlpool.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Atticus watched as Jaden being pulled down even further in to the swirling vortex.

"_Damn! I can't do anything to help them,"_ he thought.

"_That's not entirely true,"_ a monk appeared before him,_ "Atticus Rhodes, it is time. Search within yourself and you will find the strength to aid your friends."_

Not sure how to do what the monk said, Atticus closed his eyes and looked deep within. The water around him began to calm. A light blue Kanji appeared on his forehead

"Trust"

He then spoke as if the water was oxygen.

"ARMOR OF TORRENT… TAO SHIN!

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

A pillar of water shot up from the whirlpool. On the top of it was a man in light blue armor holding some sort of spear in his right hand and supporting Jaden with his other hand. The lady of the lake charged forward, but the new warrior, with a quick swing of his spear, severed the water maiden from her source of power. The tower of water shot forward towards land and he gently dropped Jaden off.

The armor on the left shoulder was segmented while the right simply curved down. The right forearm had three black claws, which reached from the wrist to the elbow, pulled back on a hinge. The chest was an even lighter blue. On his back was short sword. In his hand was an odd looking spear or a trident, on a large section at one end was a yin and yang symbol as a small blade stuck out at the end while two curved blades stuck out at each side. The helmet had a single fin on the top. The face guard covered all but the mouth as one whole piece covered the nose and cheeks as another piece covered the chin while a red visor covered the eyes. The visor slid up into the helmet to reveal the wearer's face.

"Atticus?"

"That's right, sissy. Now that your dear bro-bro's a Ronin Warrior too, everything is going to be okay."

With that, Atticus took off to battle. Alexis couldn't decide if she should be relieved or be worried that her brother was now a Ronin.

The knight looked at the newcomer with confusion and slight annoyance.

"How many of you are there?"

"More than enough to take care of you."

"Don't think I'm as easy as Percival. I, sir Sagramore, am far more skilled than you. Prepare yourself!"

Sagramore drew his sword and charged. He went for an overhead strike but Atticus brought his spear up to block it. Atticus countered with a horizontal slash, Sagramore backed away before the blade struck. Without losing momentum, Atticus spun around and did another slash followed by three quick jabs. Each one was avoided. The knight came in with another overhead strike, the new Ronin brought the blades of his spear up and blocked it. Atticus was starting to get frustrated as they grappled. Soon they broke away.

"_Gotta calm down. Remember what Jaden said; 'Make your mind like water and your moves will flow like it,"_ Atticus thought.

Atticus held his spear out forward as water began to gather at the middle blade.

"SUPER WAVE SMASHER!"

The blast of water crashed into the young knight with tremendous force. Sagramore slammed into the side of the cliff, shouting in pain. Anger and frustration was evident on his face.

"I did not anticipate this. Enjoy your victory, while it lasts."

The knight then vanished. Alexis was helping Jaden up when her brother did something corny again.

"Ronins: 3, weird knight guys: 0!" Atticus said proudly.

He saw Jazz and Mindy coming up to check on them.

"Hi ladies!"

Jazz and Mindy, once again, succumbed to his charms, Jazz was more so than Mindy. Off to the side, Alexis had an annoyed look on her face while Jaden could only sympathize.

"How many Ronin armors are there again?" she asked the red armored boy.

"Five"

"Let's hope the last two Ronins aren't like him or we're in trouble." Syrus put in his two cents.

Everyone nodded at this statement.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

A man with blue hair, a goatee, and a cane watched the small group below. He smiled and spoke with a slight Brooklyn accent.

"They're coming along rather well. If my hunch is right, the next one to appear will be the Armor of Hardrock. I wonder who will get it?"

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

A/N: Anyone wanna take a guess who that was? Here's a hint: he's an old friend of the old Ronin Warriors

Here are the current standings for the warlords.

Aster: Cruelty: 0, Corruption: 0, Venom: 2, Illusion: 0

Zane: Cruelty: 2, Corruption: 4, Venom: 0, Illusion: 0

Axel: Cruelty: 1, Corruption: 1, Venom: 4, Illusion: 0

Jim: Cruelty: 0, Corruption: 0, Venom: 1, Illusion: 3

Jesse: Cruelty: 2, Corruption: 1, Venom: 0, Illusion: 2

Syrus: Cruelty: 2, Corruption: 1, Venom: 0, Illusion: 1

At this rate it's fairly obvious who will get Corruption and Venom but I still need more to determine the other two.

I've seen the suggestions for the extra anime for the girls. Unless anyone has any more ideas, I'm going to go with sailor moon, since people are more familiar with it. If you have any ideas on who should be which scout, let me know (except Alexis, I already have an idea for her but it wont be revealed until later). Since there are only 4 main anime girls, I'll be pulling girls from the GX manga and one-shot episodes to fill in the gaps. There will be no OC scouts.

Here are the people so far:

Alexis

Jasmine

Mindy

Blair

Seika Kohinata (manga)


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: see previous chapters_

Chapter 5

Alexis found herself in some kind of palace or a temple. She assumed it was a palace because of the marble flooring and the exotic and ornate decorations and furniture. She looked to her side to see a small table and a mirror hanging above it. When she looked into the mirror she noticed she was wearing something she hardly ever considered wearing. The gown was white with gold rings running along the top hem, all around her chest and back. She had some strange hair clips that looked like three pearls on both sides of head. Upon closer inspection, she noticed she had a golden crescent moon mark on her forehead. (A/N: basically it's princess Serenity's outfit without the poofy things on her shoulders. I don't know what they're called.)

"Okay, this is weird."

She walked through the palace a bit before she saw someone on the balcony. The person was wearing the same thing she was (with the poofies) and her blond hair was pulled into two long pigtails. The figure turned to Alexis but her face was shadowed so she couldn't see what she looked like.

"Awaken" said the figure.

"I'm sorry?"

"You must awaken it"

"Awaken what?"

Before the person could answer, Alexis felt a pull on her mind. She then awoke to find herself back in her dorm room, White Blaze was quietly sleeping at the foot of her bed. She then looked herself over. No white dress and no mark on her forehead. She looked at the clock, 2:36, she let out a deep sigh.

"It was just a dream."

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

The next morning was relatively quiet. Students were making their way to classes. The silence was lost when they saw a certain group of students. It was Jaden, his pet tiger; White Blaze, and all his friends. Jaden Chazz and Atticus were in their sub-armor. After the incident at the beach, they went to Sheppard and told him everything that has happened. He had decided that the three Ronins should remain in their sub-armor, even during class, just in case the knights appeared again. Most of the students didn't mind the odd attire they wore considering what has happened in the past. Suddenly a shout was heard halfway around the island.

"EUREKA!"

Jaden and friends recognized that as Bastion and quickly sprinted to his dorm room. Once they arrived at his door, it was quickly opened by the Ra yellow student and he hurriedly motioned them in. The others quickly noted the dark circles under his eyes, meaning he hasn't slept in a while.

"I finally figured it out! It might have cost me a 3 days of sleep but I got it!"

"Figured what out?" Jaden asked.

"Who those knights are and why they're after Alexis."

Bastion went over to his computer and brought up a file.

"I ran names of those four knights we saw a few days ago and found out they are part of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table."

"Are you sure?" Alexis asked. Bastion nodded.

"So what does that have to with me?"

"Just a moment," Bastion said, as he typed some more on the keyboard. Then a picture of a man in regal clothes popped up.

"That looks like that Avalon guy," said Jaden.

"_That_ is King Arthur but since you brought it up, I do have a theory as to why he bears a resemblance to Art P. Avalon. I believe he and King Arthur are one and the same."

"How do you figure?" Atticus asked

"Mr. Avalon's full name is Arthur Pendragon Avalon. Arthur Pendragon was King Arthur's full name and Avalon is supposed to be his resting-place. Of course it's too early to make assumptions."

"So we're fighting the legendary Knights of the Round Table but that still doesn't tell us why they want my sister."

"I'm getting to that. During my research, I stumbled upon this," Bastion pulled up another picture. This one was a woman, also in regal clothing but the most startling thing was her face.

"Hey, it's Alexis!"

"Wrong, she _looks_ like Alexis but her name is Guinevere. According to legend she was Arthur's wife. After seeing all of this, I managed to come up with a theory. If Avalon and Arthur are the same person then the reason why these knights are after Alexis is because he thinks she's Guinevere."

Everyone was silent as they took all this in.

"So what should we do now?" asked Syrus.

"The only thing we can do, Private. Get ready for anything the enemy throws at us," Hassleberry said.

"Dino-boy is right, we'll just have to be on our guard. Now come on, the Chazz doesn't wanna be late for class."

"If you guys don't mind, I'd like to stay at the Slifer dorm tonight. It might be better to have you guys close by, just to be on the safe side," Alexis said.

"Sure, no problem," said Jaden.

"I'll stay over, too. I wouldn't want anything to happen to my dear sissy."

Alexis let out a deep sigh.

"Hey Bastion, what about…"

Jaden stopped when he saw Bastion on the floor, snoring loudly with a snot bubble coming out of his nose. Everyone even White Blaze sweatdropped at this sight.

"Well, I guess that's what happens when you don't sleep for three days," said Syrus.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

_Dark Chamber_

Merlin approached one of the king's knights.

"Dagonet, it is now your time to prove yourself."

"Yes, I will succeed where Percival and Sagramore failed."

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

The students filed in and took their seats. Rumors were going around that a new teacher would be filling for the late Professor Banner. Everyone was a little anxious to meet the new teacher. The door opened and a blue haired man with a cane and a goatee walked into the room. He stopped at the podium and placed his cane by the side. He wore a white button up shirt, a royal blue tie and black slacks. The only thing that seemed out of place on his casual attire was his blue headband. He then spoke with a slight Brooklyn accent.

"Hello everyone, I'll be your new homeroom teacher. And for those of you in Slifer Red, I will also be your new headmaster. I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you and hope we all get along."

The new teacher looked up towards the three young Ronins and let out a small grin. Suddenly a look of realization and embarrassment formed on his face.

"Silly me, I forgot to tell you my name, didn't I? I am professor Rowan Hashiba. You all can just call me Rowan."

Rowan finished his introduction with a smile. The rest of the day was thankfully uneventful for the new Ronin Warriors.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

_Slifer Red Dorms_

It was a quiet morning; everyone was still asleep, dreaming peaceful dreams. That is until they were stirred from their sleep when Hassleberry bursts through the door with a bugle, playing Reveille. (For those who are confused on what that is, that's that song the play in the army to wake up the troops.)

"Up and at em' troops, time to rise and shine."

"It's six a.m. on a Saturday, Hassleberry, go back to sleep," Jaden said groggily.

Everyone agreed with the young Slifer and went back to sleep but the Dino duelist would be having none of that. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a police whistle and blew hard. Jaden, after letting out a startled yelp, jumped a good foot in the air and landed on the floor.

"It's time to get up soldier. For all you know, I could have been one of those knights and made off with the little lady."

Everyone let out an annoyed grumble. No matter how much the wanted to clobber him for waking them up this early, he had a point.

"I know what'll wake you up, a light morning jog, it'll help clear the cobwebs in the head," said Hassleberry.

"I don't know, Jaden's got a lot of 'em. It might take a while," Chazz joked.

Jaden responded by throwing his pillow at Chazz.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Jaden Chazz and Atticus were once again in their sub-armor jogging behind Hassleberry. They had picked a rocky area, not far from the Obelisk dorm, to train. The area was large and open so in case the enemy showed up, they wouldn't be caught by surprise.

"Hup, 2, 3, 4! Hup, 2, 3, 4! Hup, 2, 3, 4! Come on troops, keep up the pace! Hup, 2, 3, 4!"

"I'd like to give Sergeant Dino-brain 'Hup, 2, 3, 4," Chazz whispered to Atticus. He snickered at the idea.

On top of the ledge overlooking the boys, Alexis and the rest of their friends watched the little training session. Alexis was deep in thought. She couldn't get the dream she had out of her head. She kept telling herself it was just a dream but deep down she felt it was something more. She was brought out of her thoughts when another small army of about thirty knights appeared. Leading them was a man with black hair and blue eyes in armor. The boys below stopped and turned their attention to the newcomers. Alexis and everyone joined them down below. Bastion stepped forward.

"If I recall, you must be Dagonet?" Bastion said.

"So, you know who I am? That most likely means you know why I'm here. That said, are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?"

The knights readied their weapons. The boys only smirked.

"How's this for an answer?" Jaden said.

"ARMOR OF WILDFIRE… TAO JIN!"

"ARMOR OF HALO… TAO CHI!"

"ARMOR OF TORRENT… TAO SHIN!"

The boys armored up and drew their weapons. Dagonet gave the signal and the knights charged forward. They broke off into groups of ten. The boys proceeded to mow them down. With their friends in such a close proximity, they couldn't perform their sure-kill moves but they had grown strong enough to not need them to take down the walking armors. Two knights broke off from the group fighting Jaden and closed in on Alexis. She raised her arms in front of her in an attempt to shield herself as they reached for her. Suddenly, a golden crescent moon mark appeared on her forehead and a flash of light destroyed the knights. The mark vanished as Alexis gazed down at the empty husks in surprise and confusion.

"Did I do that?"

She was broken out of her train of thought when more knights came at her but Jaden quickly cut them down.

"You all right?"

She nodded. She then took the opportunity to get away and ushered everyone else to do the same. Everyone except Hassleberry, the Ra yellow student stayed behind to provide cover for them.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Far away, we see the backs of two cats sitting on a windowsill, gazing off into the distance.

"Did you feel that?" a male voice said.

"Yes" a female voice responded.

"After all this time, it finally shows itself."

"Were you able to pinpoint it?"

"Sadly, no. That burst was too brief."

The two cats then leaped off the windowsill onto the ground.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Dagonet looked at the rock wall and an idea struck him. He took out his morning star and began to smash the side of the cliff. The Ronins were a little confused at his actions. They soon realized what he was up to when he threw his weapon at the wall with incredible strength, causing it to crack uncontrollably. Thousands of rocks, big and small, began to tumble down.

"Landslide!" Chazz yelled.

The Ronins managed to get out of the way; Hassleberry wasn't so lucky. They watched in horror as Hassleberry was buried beneath the debris. They then turned back to Dagonet as he summoned more knights.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

In the forest to the east, the Ancient was watching the battle take place. When he saw the young boy buried by the rocks, he raised his hand in front like making a prayer. In actuality, he was smiling as he worked his magic.

"_It is time."_

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Hassleberry was alive and mostly unhurt, except for a few scratches. He was trying to push the heavy rocks off of himself. Most people would have started calling for help, but being who he was, Hassleberry was determined to break free on his own and help his friends.

"No way am I going to let sarge down!" he said as he pushed with all his might.

An orange glowing kanji appeared on his forehead.

_"Justice"_

He grinned as a new power began to course through him and words entered his mind. It could mean only one thing.

"ARMOR OF HARDROCK… TAO GI!"

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

The pile of rocks exploded and a figure walked out. When everyone looked closely, they let out a sigh of relief followed by a gasp of surprise. It was Hassleberry, he too had become a Ronin Warrior. Some knew he was going to poke fun at Syrus at being the better friend of Jaden after this. The armor was mostly orange and slightly bulky. The helmet, like the last three armors, had horn attachments. The horn on the left side was short and a little stubby while the right was longer and curved up. The two horns made a crescent moon shape if one saw the front of the helmet. The chest area was an earth brown and had a crest that resembled the helmet. The shoulder guards each had a spike that curved upwards. In his hand was an odd naginata. On one end was a single large blade while the other end had three small hook like blades.

"The cavalry has arrived!" Hassleberry said with a smirk.

With the knights distracted and their friends far away, the boys took this opportunity to cut the enemy numbers down quickly.

"FLARE UP, NOW!"

Jaden slashed down and vaporized a third of the knights.

"THUNDER BOLT CUT!"

With one stroke, Chazz cut another third of the knights right down the middle.

"SUPER WAVE SMASHER!"

The dense bubbles from Atticus' attack reduced the remaining empty armor to Swiss cheese.

Dagonet scowled at how his army was dispatched. He heard someone taking a step behind him. He turned around to find a smirking Hassleberry, ready to try out his ultimate attack.

"Now, it's my turn," Hassleberry's eyes became slitted like a reptile.

"IRON ROCK CRUSHER!"

He spun his naginata around over his head. Then, with a battle roar, brought it down in front of him. The ground began to violently shake. Large chunks of earth and stone began to rise up and pelted Dagonet from all directions. After the attack eased off Dagonet struggled to his feet and glared at the Ronins.

"Why is it that every time we launch an attack, another one of you with that samurai armor shows up?

The boys readied themselves for any attack he might make. Dagonet let out a growl and disappeared.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Off in the forest, Rowan had watched the entire thing. He had an all-knowing smile on his face as he watched the teen duelists/warriors celebrate the latest victory and welcome the new Ronin. Like everyone thought, Hassleberry was rubbing it in Syrus' face. He then turned away and walked back to the academy.

"Now for my part."

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Four down and one armor to go! I noticed some of you are rather anxious to see the Inferno armor. All I have to say is just wait a little longer, it will appear soon. Here are the standings for the warlords.

Aster: Cruelty: 0, Corruption: 0, Venom: 2, Illusion: 0

Zane: Cruelty: 2, Corruption: 5, Venom: 0, Illusion: 0

Axel: Cruelty: 1, Corruption: 1, Venom: 5, Illusion: 0

Jim: Cruelty: 0, Corruption: 0, Venom: 1, Illusion: 4

Jesse: Cruelty: 2, Corruption: 1, Venom: 0, Illusion: 2

Syrus: Cruelty: 3, Corruption: 1, Venom: 0, Illusion: 1

Unless anyone who hasn't voted yet has their own suggestions, then we have our Warlords! Still need ideas for the sailor portion.


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: see previous chapters_

Chapter 6

Jaden was sneaking around the girls' Obelisk dorm. At the end of class that day, he found a red handkerchief. He recognized as Alexis' when she dueled Pierre for it. He tried to return it before but as usual, Crowler held him in class for detention. Afterwards after numerous failed attempts, he had decided to just return it directly. It was about close to midnight when he found Alexis' room. He skillfully entered the room without waking its tenant, sneaked over to her bedside and carefully slid the handkerchief under her pillow.

Alexis was having that dream again that she had a few nights ago. Only this time, the figure on the balcony took off and she followed. She then found herself in the ballroom where a party was being held. She started to leave when a hand grasped hers. She turned to see a boy about her age in a tuxedo with an oddly familiar hairstyle. She was unable to make out his face since he was wearing as mask. (A/N: CoughCoughJadenCoughCough). He guided her down the steps onto and gestured if she wanted to dance. She offered her hand and he placed it over his shoulder. After a few moments, the boy slowly moved in for a kiss.

The Ronin Slifer was caught by surprise when Alexis' arm reached out and wrapped around his neck. He soon found himself looking at the sleeping face of the Obelisk queen as the pale light of the moon seeped into the room, giving the boy a better look of her features.

'_She looks so beautiful. Wait, when have I ever thought of her like that?'_

Jaden's internal tirade was interrupted when felt a push on the back of his neck. The sleeping girl was pulling Jaden to her face, closer and closer until their lips met.

'_Her lips are so soft and warm.'_

Jaden almost panicked when her eyes cracked open a bit and looked at him.

'_Oh, it's Jaden.'_

She closed her eyes again and deepened the kiss.

'_Wait, Jaden?!'_

Her eyes shot wide open to see she was kissing… her pillow. She looked around her room; nobody was there. She walked out to her balcony to look around. She found no one was nearby.

"Just another weird dream," she said to herself.

As she turned back into her room, she brought her fingers to her lips as a red tinge spread on her cheeks.

'_But it felt so real.'_

She walked back into her room and saw her mother's handkerchief on her nightstand. She couldn't recall when she had put it there but put it to the side and went back to bed.

Outside, Jaden was hiding under the balcony, his face redder than his armor. As he sneaked away, he was thanking whatever higher being was up there that no one saw that. Unfortunately for Jaden, someone _did_ see him and what had happened.

"Well, Mr. Jaden Yuki, it appears I have discovered what _kind_ of wildfire burns within you," Atticus chuckled with a grin that would make the Cheshire cat proud.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Throughout the day, most of the GX gang noticed some odd behavior among some of their friends. Jaden and Alexis couldn't look each other in the eye without turning dark red in the face. Atticus lets out a sly chuckle every time the latter happens, like he knew something they didn't. And to top it off, Chazz hasn't bugged Alexis once about a date. Afterwards the four Ronins got together to work on their hand-to-hand skills. Alexis laid her head on White Blaze's side, Syrus and Blair watched from the side while Bastion read to himself from a piece of paper in his hand.

"What're you reading, Bastion?" Alexis asked.

"This poem I found while I was trying to research the Ronin Warriors. This was the only thing I could find that relates to them, it might give us a clue as to when and where the next armor will appear. Listen:

'_Torch of Spirit, sought through five, _

_Drinking strength from immortal fire, _

_Darkest prison sheds the light, _

_Churning beneath a swirl of salt, _

_Burning within a throne of rock,_

_Float_--"

Before Bastion could finish someone's voice cut in.

"_Floating amongst the eyes of ages, _

_unmoored in the stream of the sky_."

Everyone turned to see Rowan standing off to the side with an all-knowing smile on his face.

"Professor Hashiba?" said Bastion.

"Please, call me Rowan."

"Rowan, you know the poem of the Ronin Warriors?"

Rowan took a seat next to Syrus and let out a small laugh.

"Of course, I also know about you, Jaden of Wildfire, Chazz of Halo, Hassleberry of Hardrock and Atticus of Torrent," He indicated to the four young warriors. "I may as well be the leading expert on the Ronin Warriors on this island."

"How is it you know so much?" Bastion asked.

"I know so much about them because… I too am a Ronin Warrior."

Everyone gasped and stared at him in surprise.

"Or rather, I used to be."

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

_Dark Chamber_

Caradoc watched the previous battles through Merlin's cauldron.

"Observing your opponents, Caradoc?" Merlin said from behind.

"Yes, they are quite formidable on the battlefield."

"Indeed, I hope you have a plan to defeat them."

"I do, but I am going to do something a little… different."

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

"You were a Ronin Warrior?" Jaden said, shocked.

"Yep, Rowan of the Strata, that's what they called me."

"Whoa, I can't believe our new teacher is a former Ronin," Jaden said, excited.

"Rowan, what did you mean by 'you used to be a Ronin Warrior?" Bastion asked.

Rowan lightly patted his right leg.

"This bum leg of mine. I've been through some really nasty life threatening situations and managed to come out in one piece and yet the thing that takes me out of commission is a car accident, talk about irony, huh?"

"If you are an ex-Ronin, why are you stepping forward, now?" Chazz asked.

"I'm actually here to see Bastion Misawa." The said person stepped up in front of him.

"Tell me Mr. Misawa, do you do archery?"

Bastion shook his head. Rowan smiled and took the group to the back of the Slifer dorm. In the back were two quivers, two bows and two targets. Rowan picked up one quiver and bow and asked Bastion to do the same. He then proceeded to teach the Ra Yellow the basics of the art. Bastion did poorly at first but with Rowan's coaching, he became quite adept. Afterwards, they all went inside to the common room.

"Very good, I recommend you practice everyday. You might even become world champion archer one day."

"I don't know, I'm more of a duelist then an archer." Bastion paused, "Mr. Hashi-- Rowan, why did you decide to teach me archery today?"

Rowan, again took a seat

"It's about time I chose a successor as well, that's why I've picked you, Bastion Misawa."

"Me?"

"Yes, but there is a bit of a catch."

Bastion braced himself for whatever tests the veteran Ronin threw at him.

"In order to gain the Armor of Strata, you must take Life from me," Rowan said with a serious face.

"What?!" everyone shouted.

"You can't be serious!" Chazz yelled.

"Quite serious, actually."

"Uh, guys, we got a problem," Syrus said, looking out the window.

Sure enough, there was another small army of knights closing in on them.

"You guys go on ahead. Mr. Misawa and I have much to talk about."

Jaden turned to his Tiger friend, "White Blaze, you stay here and hold the fort."

The tiger roared in acknowledgment.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

The Ronins, Alexis, Syrus and Blair ran up to find a small battalion. Hassleberry and Atticus charged in first, their spear-like weapons latching on to each other.

"Step up to the bar, boys."

The two then proceeded to bowl down a good portion of the knights. Afterwards the group split up to deal with the scattered enemies.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Syrus took out a small camcorder from his backpack and turned it on.

"What are you doing?" Blair asked.

"I wanna catch this fight on film."

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Two knights charged at Atticus with maces in hand. He quickly blocked them, punched both knights in the guts and threw them over his head into the ocean. He walked away, dusting his hands off.

"Enjoy your swim, boys."

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Three knights charged at Hassleberry. He gripped one end of his naginata and held it up like a bat.

"Hey, you guys like baseball?"

One knight jumped up for an overhead attack. Hassleberry countered by smashing the front of the knight's faceguard in with the staff part of his naginata, knocking its helmet off.

"Strike one!"

The other knight came up from his right. He countered this one by jabbing the three-bladed end into its chest.

"Strike two!"

The last knight attacked came up behind the second. Hassleberry swung his naginata around and slashed the knight across the chest.

"You're outta there!"

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Two knights charged at Chazz, one with a spear the other with a mace. Chazz cut the blade of the spear and kicked the knight away. The other rushed in with his weapon raised high. Chazz slashed upward and vertically cut the knight in half right down the middle. The spear knight came in from behind, attempting to use wrecked spear like a club. Chazz slipped his sword to his back and caught the staff and pulled it towards himself. The knight grasped the staff just above Chazz' hand and pulled back Chazz grabbed the staff with his other hand, above the knight's and pulled back again. The knight moved his other hand to near the top and pulled back again. Chazz reached out and grabbed only air. His enemy let out a gloating laugh as Chazz examined his empty hand. He turned back and punched the knight in the face with his free hand, took the staff and whacked it on the side of the head, sending to the ground.

"You win."

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

One knight attacked Jaden from the front with a spear. He crossed his swords and drove the spear into the ground. Sensing another attack from behind, he brought his swords over his head, blocking an axe. Moving the axe to the side with his blades, Jaden moved the knight into view and kicked him away. The spear knight moved in again. Jaden stopped the attack and sliced off the blade. He then proceeded to swing his swords around in front of him. After a few steps, Jaden stops, looks at his two swords and ho0lds them to the knight.

"Hold these for me, will ya?"

The knight took the swords in confusion. Jaden surprised it by punching it in the face, knocking it down and causing it to drop his swords. Jaden caught the swords before the touched the ground and looked down at the knight.

"Thanks"

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

After the last of the knights were dispatched, the Ronins braced themselves for a second wave. None came.

"Aw, no more?" Chazz playfully pouted.

Caradoc just clapped nonchalantly at their efforts.

"Most impressive, young warriors."

"You ready to fight, now?" Hassleberry said.

"I have something different in mind," with that Caradoc snapped his fingers.

Before anyone could react, Chazz, Atticus and Hassleberry were trapped in some kind of bubble while Alexis Syrus and Blair were surrounded by knights

"Jaden!" Syrus yelled out.

"That was an underhanded trick!" Jaden yelled.

"I'll get us out of this," Atticus raised his spear, "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!"

The blast of bubbles crashed into the side but didn't achieve the desired effect. Instead, the bubbles began to ricochet all over the inside.

"Hit the deck!" Hassleberry called out as he, Chazz and Atticus ducked down.

After the attack subsided, they looked up to see their prison was unscathed and, fortunately, so were they. Chazz and Hassleberry then turned and glared at their fellow Ronin.

"What? I didn't know that would happen."

Caradoc cast off his shield and it stuck to the outside of the bubble.

"That should you in place."

He then turned to the remaining warrior.

"I shall do battle with you an a slightly different method,"

A duel disc then appeared on arm.

"I, Sir Caradoc, challenge you to game of Duel Monsters, do you accept?"

"Yeah, I accept," he turned to his surrounded friends. "Hey Syrus, can you throw me my deck box and duel disc?"

Jaden's friend tossed him said objects

"Let's Duel!"

Caradoc drew a card.

"I summon **Masked Knight LV3** in attack mode (ATK 1300) and I uses its effect to inflict 400 of direct damage to you."

J:3600/ C:4000

"Now I'll set a card facedown. That will do for me."

"Alright my turn," Jaden drew a card.

"I summon **Elemental Hero Bubbleman **in attack mode (ATK 800) and since he's the only card on field I get to draw two cards from my deck."

Jaden drew two cards.

"Now I play **Polymerization** and fuse** Bubbleman** and **Avian** to summon **Elemental Hero Mariner! **(ATK 1400). Now, I attack your **Masked Knight!"**

"I activate my trap, **Negate Attack**!" Caradoc's card flipped up. Mariner's attack is stopped.

"I'll throwdown a facedown and call it a turn."

Caradoc drew a card.

"I activate **Level Up!** Promoting my **Masked Knight LV3** to **Masked Knight LV5 **(ATK 2300). **Masked Knight LV5**'s effect inflicts 1000 damage to you."

J:2600/ C:4000

"Now I attack your **Mariner** with my **Masked Knight LV5**!"

Mariner is destroyed. J:1700/ C:4000

"I activate **Hero Signal**! Now I can summon a level 4 or below monster with 'Elemental Hero' in its name and I choose **Elemental Hero Sparkman**!"

Sparkman appeared in a flash of lightning.

"I'll end for now," Caradoc said.

"My turn," Jaden drew. "Now I play **Graceful Charity** to draw three cards from my deck as long as I discard two." Jaden drew 3 cards and sent 2 to the graveyard. "I play **Miracle Fusion **to fuse **Sparkman** on my field with **Elemental Hero Bladedge** in my grave!"

"When was that card sent to the graveyard?"

"When I played **Graceful Charity**, now I summon **Elemental Hero Plasma Vice** (ATK 2600) and on the turn he's summoned I can destroy one monster in attack mode so say goodbye to your **Masked Knight LV5**!"

Masked Knight was destroyed.

"I still have his attack left so I'll have **Plasma Vice** attack you directly!"

J:1700/ C:1400

"I now acticate **Mirage of Nightmare** which allows me to draw four cards during your standby phase but I have to discard them during the standby phase of my turn and I'll also play **Damage-off Zone** so all damage we both receive in battle is cut in half. I'll throwdown two facedowns and end my turn."

"My turn," Caradoc drew a card while Jaden drew four.

"I activate **Premature Burial **to bring back **Masked Knight LV5** from my Graveyard but I won't use his special ability."

Masked Knight LV5 appeared again. J:1700/ C: 600

"Next I play **Spell Reproduction**, first I send two spell cards from my hand to my graveyard and I add one from graveyard back to my hand."

He places two cards in his grave and retrieves one

"Then I'll play **Pot of Greed** and draw two cards from my deck."

Caradoc draws two cards.

"I'll summon **Blade Knight** to the field in attck mode (ATK 1600). Now I'll play the **Level Up **spell card that I got back from my graveyard to summon **Masked Knight LV7** (ATK 2900). His special ability allows me to deal 1500 points of direct damage to your life points."

J:200/ C: 600

"And since there are no cards in my hand, **Blade Knight**'s ability activates. When there is one or no cards in my hand, he gets an extra 400 Atk points for a grand total of 2000."

Jaden turns to one of his facedowns.

"I activate **Emergency Provisions**! By sending a spell or trap card to my graveyard, like my **Mirage of Nightmare**, I get 1000 life points. And because I sent it to the graveyard before my turn I get to keep the four cards I drew"

J:1200/ C: 600

"I'll have **Masked Knight** attack your **Plasma Vice**!"

J:1050/ C: 600

"And now **Blade Knight** will attack you directly!"

"I activate **A Hero Emerges**, now you have to pick a card in my hand and if it's a monster I can summon it."

Caradoc picked the second card from the right

"Sweet, I summon **Elemental Hero Neos** in attack mode(ATK 2500)."

Neos appeared on the field in all his glory. Caradoc let out a frustrated growl.

"I'll cancel my attack and end my turn."

"All right, my move," Jaden drew. "I play **Fusion Recovery** to get back **Polymerization** and a fusion material monster from my grave. Then I'll play **Polymerization** to fuse **Avian** and **Burstinatrix **to summon an old favorite, **Elemental Hero Flame Wingman** (Atk 2100)."

"That won't be enough to beat my Masked Knight."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I have this, the field spell **Skyscraper**."

The area around them turned into a dark looking city.

"**Skyscraper**'s effect is when an Elemental Hero does battle with a monster whose attack points are higher than its own, it gains 1000 attack points. Now, Flame Wingman, attack"

Flame Wingman charged at Masked Knight, it's attack point rising to 3100. Masked Knight shattered into a million pieces.

J:1050/ C: 500

"And now my **Flame Wingman**'s effect kicks in, you take damage equal to the destroyed monster's attack points."

J:1050/ C: 0

"Alright! He won!" Syrus shouted.

A load "thunk!" came from the knight in front of Syrus. He then watched one of his captors fall to the ground with a gold arrow in its back. Several more "thunk!" sounds were heard as all the knights surrounding them fell, each with an arrow in them.

They all looked to see a man on the hill, holding a golden bow. His armor was a royal blue. Similar to the Torrent, the shoulder guard on the right was segmented while the left was one piece. The right hand had one circular piece that went over most of the fingers. The chest piece had two gold rings that were just below the collar bones. The helmet had a gold diamond piece in the center of the forehead. A blue horn sat at the top with two gold horns that jutted out from the temples. The biggest surprise was the wearer.

"Bastion?!"

The new warrior turned his attention

"I'll get you out of there, gents."

He reached behind his back and a new arrow shot up into his hand. He pulled back on the bowstring as golden light streams gathered at the point of the arrow.

"ARROW SHOCKWAVE!"

He released and the arrow shot forward like a bolt of lightning, smashing the shield into pieces and releasing his captured comrades. Bastion then turned to Caradoc.

"Well now, Mr. knight we can do this the easy way," he prepared another arrow, "or the hard way."

Caradoc said nothing and disappeared. Everyone then turned their attention back to Bastion. Some had looks of shock while some of disappointment.

"I can't believe you did him in," Chazz said.

"Did who in?" a voice behind them said. They all turned to see…

"Rowan?!"

Everyone was confused. Didn't Rowan say that in order to get his armor, Bastion would have to do the unthinkable?

"I probably know what you're thinking. Let me explain…"

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

_Flashback_

"I can't do what you ask of me."

"You must, it is the only way."

"No!" Bastion said forcefully, "No matter what, I could never take another person's life and that's why I won't take yours."

Rowan smiled and held out his hand to shake. Bastion cautiously returned the gesture

"That is an excellent answer, Bastion Misawa, but who said anything about killing me?"

Bastion had puzzled look on his face but was brought out of his stupor when he suddenly found himself in a royal blue sub-armor similar to Jaden's and the others.

"But you said I had to take your life."

"No, I said you had to take Life from me. Life or Life Force is the guiding trait of the Armor of Strata. Your right about one thing though, the way I said it does sound a little like I want you to kill me."

"A little?" Bastion deadpanned.

"We'll discuss this later. Right now, your friends could use a little help," Rowan indicated out the window. "Just focus and everything will come to you."

Bastion closed his eyes and cleared his mind. In an instant a wave of power rushed over him and dark blue kanji appeared on his forehead.

'Life Force'

"ARMOR OF STRATA… TAO INNOCHI!"

_End Flashback_

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

"So basically, it was just poor phrasing on my part, sorry." Rowan had his hand behind his head and stuck out his tongue, sheepishly.

Everyone, except Bastion, face-vaulted.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

A/N: Some of you can probably take a good guess where I got those fight scenes from. It has finally been decided. Here are all nine armors:

Jaden Yuki – Wildfire (Virtue)

Tyranno Hassleberry – Hardrock (Justice)

Chazz Princeton – Halo (Wisdom)

Atticus Rhodes – Torrent (Trust)

Bastion Misawa – Strata (Life Force)

Syrus Truesdale – Cruelty/Spring (Loyalty)

Zane Truesdale – Corruption/Winter (Piety)

Axel Brodie – Venom/Autumn (Obedience)

Jim Crocodile Cook – Illusion/Summer (Serenity)

Your votes have allowed me to decide on the bearers and I can proudly say it's an excellent line up. (On a side note, I can't help but laugh every time I think of Syrus shouting "Quake with Fear!" in that high pitched voice of his. You have to admit, it's not very intimidating.)


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I don't own RW or YGOGX_

Chapter 7

_Dark Chamber_

"Even you were defeated Caradoc," Percival said, "You didn't even draw your weapon. You just played a silly little game with one of them and ran away when you lost."

"That was only because another one of those children appeared in that strange armor."

"That's no excuse. You didn't even try to fight him, yourself. You're a coward!" Sagramore joined in. soon all four knights began to argue amongst themselves.

"That's quite enough!" Merlin interrupted.

"So you decided to grace us with your presence, eh you old conjurer?" Percival said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Never mind him. I'll now go fulfill the king's wish." Sagramore began to walk away.

"Fat chance of that, _I'm_ going."

Once again, the knights started to quarrel. This was quickly put to rest when Merlin banged his staff onto the ground.

"Silence!"

They stopped and turned to the wizard.

"The next attack will be carried out by _all_ of you. Your individual efforts in the past only accomplished to strengthen the numbers of these Ronin Warriors. This time you shall work together and to make sure that you succeed, I'm going as well."

The young knights knew arguing with him would be pointless.

"Fine, just try not to slow us down, old man."

Merlin let out an annoyed growl.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Alexis was having that strange dream again for the umpteenth time. She found herself in the marble palace, again. Wearing that familiar dress… again. And currently facing that shadowed figure… again. The redundancy was starting to wear on her nerves.

"You must awaken it," the girl said.

'_This again?'_ "Awaken what?" Alexis said irritated.

Every single time, the dream always got this far and abruptly ended. She asked this person several times what she meant but never got an answer. She was beginning to wonder why she even bothered asking if she never got an answer.

"The crystal," the lady in shadows said.

Alexis stared in surprise. She finally got a response.

"What crystal?"

"The one I have hidden within you."

"What do you mean?" Alexis was really getting curious now.

"Many years ago, I was greatly injured due to a mishap. The crystal I had hidden within you is a powerful artifact and in my weakened state, I couldn't protect it. I needed someone who was pure to keep it safe, even if it was without their knowledge. You were very young at the time and with my strength waning, you were the best possible choice."

"What so unique about this crystal?"

"All will be revealed in time."

At that moment, Alexis awoke. Her mind was going a mile a minute. Somewhere within her was some kind of powerful, and most likely, magical item. She would have dismissed this as just some crazy dream again. These thoughts, however, were banished from her head when she felt a strange warmth and power radiate from her heart. One side of her brain told her it was just a coincidence while the other side said if this is a sign that what the person said was true then something big was going to happen, real soon.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

_Duel Academy, the next day_

Alexis Mindy and Jasmine were carrying a few stacks of paper by a teacher's request.

"Hey Lex, what are you going to be doing?" asked Jazz.

"About what?" Alexis asked.

"The school festival, it's coming up pretty soon."

"Have they decided on a theme yet?"

"Yeah, they're going with a Renaissance fair idea," said Mindy.

Alexis chuckled uncomfortably.

"I'm thinking about setting up a kissing booth."

"Kissing booth?" Mindy and Alexis asked.

"Sure, give the boys something to look forward to. You in, Mindy?"

"Sorry Jazz, but I've already made other plans."

"What other plans?"

"You'll see."

Jazz and Alexis looked at Mindy in confusion.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

_Three days later, day of the festival_

Jaden, Chazz, Bastion, Hassleberry and Atticus observed the numerous students strolling about, visiting different booths, and playing the different games available. Some were even dressed up as peasants, nobles, and even knights. The last one got them a little concerned.

"If there are students dressing as knights, our enemies could sneak in, claiming to be students," Bastion stated.

"I don't think so, Chancellor Sheppard announced that anyone dressing as a knight must make sure their face is showing or don't wear a helmet," Atticus said.

"Even so, we better suit up, just in case," Bastion said. The boys all agreed to his suggestion.

"ARMOR OF WILDFIRE, TAO-JIN!"

"ARMOR OF HARDROCK, TAO-GI!"

"ARMOR OF HALO, TAO-CHI!"

"ARMOR OF TORRENT, TAO-SHIN!"

"ARMOR OF STRATA, TAO-INNOCHI!"

The bright flashes of multi-colored lights came and gone and the boys were now in their respective armor.

"You guys are really going to stick out in those."

The Ronins turned to the voice that had called out to them. To their surprise, it was Syrus in knight armor, holding a lance while riding on top of White Blaze who looked a little annoyed.

"What's with the tin suit, private?" said Hassleberry.

"I'm going be in the jousting tournament."

"So why are you riding on White Blaze?" Jaden asked.

"Well, I'm not high enough to get on the horse, so I sorta borrowed White Blaze. Hope you don't mind, Jay."

"It's not that I mind, it's just that…"

Before Jaden could continue, White Blaze ran forward then abruptly stopped, throwing Syrus off his back. As he flew, the lance that was still in his hand stabbed into the ground, leaving him suspended in the air.

"… Unless it's necessary, he doesn't like people riding on his back." Jaden finished

"Now, he tells me," Syrus whined.

"You okay, Sy?"

The boys looked to see Alexis, still in her school uniform, Mindy and Jazz, both dressed as medieval maidens.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Syrus said.

"So Mindy, where's this date of yours you were talking about?" Mindy asked.

Mindy giggles and walks over to Chazz.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"You look great."

"Thank you. So, you ready?" Mindy asked.

"Of course," Chazz offered his arm, "Shall we?"

Mindy took his arm and the two walked off, leaving a rather stunned group. Syrus, sliding down the lance, broke the silence.

"Wow, didn't see that coming."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Now it was Jasmine's turn to take off.

"Well, I better go and open my booth," said Jazz.

"Allow me to be your first customer," said Atticus.

"If you're going to be my first customer, I'm going to give you the house special."

Now it was just Jaden, Bastion, Hassleberry, Alexis, White Blaze and Syrus.

"Where are you going, Bastion?"

"I hear there's an archery contest starting soon."

"Since I can't do the jousting tourney, I'll come along and root for you," said Syrus.

"Count me in, too," Hassleberry followed closely behind the two.

Jaden and Alexis had a stunned look on their faces.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

The two friends and tiger walked around through the streets, taking in some of the booths. One of the most popular game booths was a dunking game with Crowler and Bonaparte. After catching Bastion blow away the competition at archery, they found themselves now at the coast to watch the sun set. After a few minutes, Alexis got a depressed look on her face.

"I'm sorry, Jaden."

Jaden turned to her.

"About what?"

"All of this is happening because of me. In the end, I'm just a burden."

"No, Lex, you're not a burden.

Alexis then turned to face Jaden.

"But what if something happens to you guys? I don't think I would be able forgive myself if you… if you…"

Jaden placed his hands on her shoulders in a calming manner.

"Alexis, I won't let anything happen to you. No matter what, I will protect you, I promise.

"Jaden"

The two stood there as the sun started to set, the wind blew gently, keys began to be played on a piano… wait, piano? The two turn to see the band starting to play a song.

(This song is own by Bryan Adams. If you want to listen to it while reading, play his version.)

"_Look into my eyes - you will see  
What you mean to me.  
Search your heart - search your soul  
And when you find me there you'll search no more._

_Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for.  
You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for.  
You know it's true  
Everything I do - I do it for you._

_Look into your heart - you will find  
There's nothin' there to hide.  
Take me as I am - take my life  
I would give it all - I would sacrifice._

_Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for.  
I can't help it - there's nothin' I want more.  
Ya know it's true  
Everything I do - I do it for you._

_There's no love - like your love.  
And no other - could give more love.  
There's nowhere - unless you're there.  
All the time - all the way ._

_Oh - you can't tell me it's not worth tryin' for.  
I can't help it - there's nothin' I want more.  
I would fight for you - I'd lie for you  
Walk the wire for you - ya I'd die for you_

_Ya know it's true  
Everything I do - I do it for you."*_

As the song ended, the two had yet to realized Jaden still had his hands on her shoulders watching his master and his female friend, White Blaze got a mischievous glint in his eye. He innocently walks behind Alexis and 'accidentally' bumps her from behind and into Jaden's arms; their faces turn red from the closeness of each other. The two then recalled the night before Bastion got his armor, Alexis' 'dream' of kissing Jaden. Jaden, of course, knew otherwise. The two gazed into each other's eyes and, without noticing it, inched closer and closer.

"Jaden Yuki!"

Someone calling out snapped the two out of their reverie. They quickly separated after realizing the awkward position they were in.

"It's been a while Jaden," the person stepped forward revealing it to be none other than Harrington Rosewood.

"Hey it's you… who are you again?"

Harrington face-vaulted at this.

"You don't remember?!" Harrington shouted.

"It's Harrington Rosewood, remember Jaden?" said Alexis.

"Oh yeah, the tennis guy. It's been a while, what's up?"

Harrington pulls out a leather glove.

"What's up is I hereby challenge you to duel."

Harrington then slaps the glove across Jaden's face.

"What was that for?"

A crowd begins to gather around the three, among those in the crowd is the Ronins and friends. Bastion came up beside Jaden and whispered into his ear.

"Jaden, in the olden days, when a person challenges another to duel they would slap the other person in the face with a glove. The one who was issued the challenge would accept by doing the same thing."

"Oh, well then…"

The crowd watches to see how he will react. Jaden calmly turns to a student standing off to the side and asks if he could borrow his gauntlet. The boy hands the garment to Jaden. The young Ronin lightly throws it up, catches it and with a smug look on his face, slaps it across Harrington's face, sending him to the ground, clutching the side of his face.

"I accept."

Bastion comes back to Jaden's side.

"Was that really necessary?"

"No, but it was funny."

Bastion gave a dismissive nod. Harrington got up with a pissed off look as well as a big red mark on his face.

"That's going to cost you."

"Put on my bill," said Jaden. Harrington then got in Jaden's face.

"So it's come down to this. A fight to the finish. Mano a mano, man to man, just you and me and our swords."

"Bro, you need a Tic Tac." Jaden pinched his nose.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

A large crowd had gathered around to watch upcoming battle. Even a few of the teachers came to see.

"So who do you think will win?" Sheppard asked his colleagues.

"Well, Jaden has had training as well as actual battle experience and there's no substitute for that," said Rowan.

The two fighters were handed a single bokken each. Harrington pointed his at Jaden.

"I hope you're ready, Jaden, cause I'm gonna give you a thorough thrashing."

"Oh, he's a feisty one," said Atticus.

"Feisty indeed," Bastion said.

Syrus looked at the two then shouted: "Begin!"

Harrington charged forward, intent to strike. Jaden easily sidestepped out of the way. Harrington turned to face him.

"On guard!" Harrington said.

"Thanks for the warning," Jaden said.

Harrington charged again but Jaden parried the strike. Harrington moved to strike from the side, Jaden batted it away. This time, Jaden rushed forward with his bokken raised high. Harrington raised his to guard but Jaden's attack was a feint and he struck Harrington on the foot. As Harrington bounced around on one foot, Syrus came out with a mug of what was most likely soda.

"Something to drink?"

"Sure, thanks" Jaden said, taking the mug.

As Jaden drank, Harrington charged forward with intent to strike. Without looking, Jaden brought up his bokken to guard. Harrington backed off and tried again with the same result. And again with the same result. Again and again and again, all with the same result. It was just comical to watch an Obelisk Blue student getting trumped by Slifer Red who had his eyes closed. Some thought Jaden was enjoying humiliating Harrington like this.

"Show off!" they heard Chazz yell.

Jaden finished his drink and returned his attention back to his opponent. Harrington charged forward with wooden sword out forward. Jaden parried and flicked the boy's helmet off.

"It's not over yet!"

Just as Harrington said those words, his helmet that was thrown off smashed onto the top of his head, knocking him out.

"I'd say it _is_."

The crowd began to applaud for the winner of the duel. Suddenly, the ground began to tremble. Stone castle towers and walls then erupted out of the ground. When the shaking had stopped, a large castle now stood tall. For the Neo Ronin Warriors this could mean that their enemy has come for another battle.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

A/N: part one is done.

* I thought this song sounded perfect for the two of them.

I still need suggestions for the sailors, so I'm going to do this like the warlord polls.

Here are the current standings for sailors:

Jasmine: Mercury: 0, Mars: 1, Jupiter: 1, Venus: 0

Mindy: Mercury: 1, Mars: 0, Jupiter: 1, Venus: 0

Blair: Mercury: 1, Mars: 0, Jupiter: 0, Venus: 1

Seika: Mercury: 0, Mars: 1, Jupiter: 0, Venus: 1

Send in your votes on who should be who.


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: see previous chapters_

Chapter 8

The new Ronin Warriors and their friends gazed at the castle that had abruptly grew out of the ground. They watched the drawbridge slowly come down in front of them.

"Looks like they're inviting us in," said Bastion.

"Well then, let's not keep them waiting," Chazz grinned.

Rowan came up beside them.

"I guess there's no stopping you guys, huh?"

The boys just shook their heads.

"I thought so but, before you head off, I've got a word of advice for you. The armors may have great power individually, but they have an even greater secret power when they work as one."

Jaden acknowledged the older man's words with a nod. He then walked over to White Blaze and knelt down in front of him.

"Okay, White Blaze, we're heading off to a big battle and I've got a job for you. I need you to watch over Alexis and everybody while we're gone, make sure they stay safe. Can you do that for me?"

The tiger gave a soft purr and nuzzled his master's cheek.

"Good boy, and listen, if I ever need your help I'll call for you, okay?"

A small roar was his answer as Jaden got up.

"Jaden wait," said Alexis.

"What's up, Lex?"

"Just be careful out there, okay?"

He nodded and joined his fellow warriors. They stood still for a moment then walked off to battle.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

The boys entered the courtyard and a voice called out.

"Ronin Warriors, you have but two choices: surrender and hand over Alexis Rhodes or face the consequences. Which will it be?"

"Is that a trick question?" Jaden quipped.

Sagramore Caradoc Dagonet and Percival then appeared on the balcony overlooking the courtyard.

"We underestimated your strength the last time, so to gauge it we've prepared a little test. We know you can handle twenty, thirty or maybe even forty of our knights, however, can you take one thousand knights?"

The boys tensed up at the sheer amount of enemies before them. Percival then spoke up.

"Do you still intend to resist us?"

Jaden stepped forward.

"Of course we intend to resist, just give us a minute alright?"

The boys then huddled together.

"Five of us a thousand of them, hardly seems fair," Jaden said.

"Odds aren't in their favor. Maybe we should give them a chance to surrender," Bastion joked.

"Nah, they're too stubborn for that," Atticus said.

"Guess we're gonna have to teach 'em a lesson," Chazz added.

"I'd say the best tactic is to take an even share of two hundred each of these bucket heads," said Hassleberry.

"Well Hassleberry, since you brought it up, why don't you take the two hundred on the far right? Atticus, the two hundred on the inner right."

Both nodded and readied their weapons. Jaden turned to the other two.

"Bastion, you handle the two hundred on the far left. Chazz, inner left."

"What will you do, Jaden?" Bastion asked, drawing an arrow.

"Well, someone's gotta take the middle, might as well be me."

Jaden then drew his swords and the boys turned to face the enemy.

"Now we're ready to resist you."

"Charge!" one of the knights, shouted.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Hassleberry spun his naginata around in front of him. He began to bat and cut the horde of knights coming from all direction. One came in from his right and he swung the bladed end at it but the knight caught it. To his surprise, the blade folded into the staff as pulled hard on his naginata only to have it separate into three pieces connected to each other via chains. The Ra student looked at his weapon and smirk grew on his lips

"I didn't know it could do that."

Quickly grasping the two inner parts of the now separated staff, Hassleberry began to swing the outer parts and mercilessly club several knights in the head, chest and even struck one right where the sun don't shine. Now the fifty remaining knights stood before him. Hassleberry reconnected the pieces back into a staff again. His eyes became reptilian slits as he glared.

"IRON ROCK CRUSHER!"

He spun his naginata around over his head. Then, with a battle roar, brought it down in front of him. The ground began to violently shake. Large chunks of earth and stone began to rise up and pelted the empty husks. After it had subsided, Hassleberry examined his handiwork. He turned and walked away after not seeing a single knight still standing in the gaping hole in the ground. He stopped when he heard some rocks shifting. He turned around to see one knight still left. Hassleberry readied his weapon but looked into the blade and then smirked at the now charging knight. When the knight was a few feet away, he held up his hand like a cop stopping traffic.

"Hold it!"

The knight stopped two feet in front of the Ronin. Hassleberry, still smirking, simply pointed upward. The knight looked up only to be crushed by a large chunk of earth.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Atticus gracefully stabbed and slashed numerous knights with great precision. One came up from behind, Atticus twirled his spear around and moved to stab his foe. The middle blade of the spear retracted and the two curved blades shifted forward and hooked around the advancing knight. Sensing another one coming up, Atticus tightly gripped his spear and, with surprisingly great strength, heaved the caught knight over his head and onto the other. Seeing another one, Atticus released the caught knight, spun his weapon around and slashed up, cutting the husk cleanly in half. He turned to see a horde of knights charging from his left. Atticus then brought his spear up and pointed it at the oncoming husks.

"SUPER WAVE SMASHER!"

Rather then firing a mass of bubbles, a single, powerful stream shot out and crashed into the oncoming knights. The attack then curved upward, taking some of the knights with it while the rest were dispatched. Atticus then reached down and picked up one of the defeated knights' shield. He ran forward, threw the shield onto the water attack, hopped on it, and rode up the stream, using the shield as a surfboard.

"Surf's up!"

As he rid the makeshift board, Atticus slashed down at the fifteen knights caught in the attack, one by one. When the stream had subsided, only one of the empty husks remained. Atticus positioned himself at just the right spot. The last knight hit the ground hard followed by Atticus, slamming the shield/ surfboard onto the husk's head.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Jaden cut down two knights in a flash. He felt it was too easy fighting these knights. A group of knights stood ready to attack the young Ronin. Jaden surprised them by stabbing his swords in to the ground and then took a fighting stance.

"I don't need my swords to kick your cans."

The hollow armors took this as just the red armored boy being arrogant and charged forward. One came in brandishing a sword; Jaden blocked the strike and landed a fierce punch to the chest, denting its armor. As it stumbled back, another came in with an axe. This one was met with a kick that relieved it of its axe followed by a roundhouse kick that knocked it to the ground. Another came in with a mace. Jaden got this one by flipping it over his shoulder behind him then kicked its helmet in. another came running forward. This time, Jaden moved to get behind it and landed a roundhouse kick to its back, sending crashing into the others. They all got up and charged again. Jaden flipped over the advancing husk, reached down and gracefully landed on his swords by gripping the hilts. He pushed off the ground, swords still in hand and landed on another knight's shoulders. He connected the hilts together and jumped into the air.

"FLARE UP, NOW!"

He slashed down, vaporizing all that remained of his enemies.

"You'd think they'd learn by now," Jaden said to himself.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Chazz' strategy could be chalked up as hack n' slash. Because of his large sword, every time he slashed, he took out two and sometimes three knights at once. When he struck down a few in front, he instinctually knew there was some behind and struck them down. All the kendo training he had done with Jaden had made all of this second nature to him. He felt invincible. Chazz made a wide sword stroke that took out twelve knights at once, a personal record for him. Chazz then twirled his sword around and stabbed at the knight behind him. He then raised his sword over his head and the clouds churned and lightning enveloped his sword. Chazz then sprinted forward at the gathered knights.

"THUNDER BOLT CUT!"

Chazz gave his sword one powerful swing as he dashed past the knights. For a moment, no one moved. Suddenly, the upper half of the remaining knights slid to the side until they fell off while the lower half collapsed to the ground.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Bastion's battle could be best described as a shooting gallery. One by one, the hollow knights were dropping left and right. He would have been worried about running out of ammo if Rowan hadn't told him the day after he got his armor that the quiver on his back can hold an endless supply of arrows. Bastion was brought out of his thoughts when he caught a glimmer out of the corner of his eye and dodged an arrow aimed at his shoulder. He traced its origin to an archer knight, readying another arrow with many other knights in front to guard it. Bastion drew another arrow and did some quick calculating in his head. He released the arrow and in strange fashion, it ricocheted off several of the knights' helmets until it struck its target. The knights were surprised he managed to strike down their archer. While they were occupied Bastion drew another arrow and readied to fire. Golden streams of energy began to gather at the tip.

"ARROW SHOCKWAVE!"

Bastion released his arrow and the shot tore through the remaining knights.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

With the last of the hollow armors defeated, the Neo-Ronin Warriors regrouped, ready for more. The four round table knights stepped forward with their weapons drawn as well as another dozen of empty knights.

"How many of those knights do you have?" Jaden said.

"As many as we need," Sagramore said.

"Hey Jaden, you take care of those small fries, we'll handle these jokers," Chazz pointed at the four knights.

Before he could argue, the other four Ronins charged forward, leaving Jaden alone with the empty knights.

Bastion jumped into the air, ready to fire an arrow but Caradoc moved in close and swung his axe, causing Bastion to drop the arrow. Using his bow as some form of shield, Bastion blocked another swing and then an over head strike from Caradoc. The Ronin pushed the knight back a bit but Caradoc came back with another strike. Dodging the axe, Bastion backed away while firing off multiple arrows at his enemy.

Hassleberry wrestled with Dagonet then pushed him away. He then took a swing at the knight but the Round Table Knight easily avoided and charged at the Ronin with his mace. Thinking quickly, Hassleberry raised his naginata and blocked the attack.

Atticus jabbed at Sagramore with his spear, however the knight stepped to the side. He tried again but it was batted away. Sagramore raised drew his sword and brought it down, intending to cut Atticus in half. The Torrent Ronin raised his spear and managed to block the strike.

Chazz swung at Percival but the knight jumped over the attack. Percival then swung his sword down but Chazz raised his and parried. The knight attempted to strike again and Chazz parried again. Percival backed off then charged forward. Chazz shifted to the side to avoid the knight's attack. Percival backed away again and charged again, getting the same result.

Jaden had just dispatched the last empty knight. Wasting no time, he quickly ran over to his fellow warriors. The four round table knights backed away from their respective opponents, having difficulty believing how quickly these boys grew in strength. Just as the red Ronin joined the others, they heard a voice in their heads.

'_That's enough, the attack has been compromised. Fall back for now.'_

"_Merlin?"_

"_I shall be the one to finish this."_

"_To ensure you succeed, we shall offer up our strength to you," _said Percival in his mind.

"_Very well__"_

An elderly looking man holding a large staff with a crystal orb on top of it emerged from the doorway onto the balcony.

"Who are you?"

"I am Merlin and your chances of victory are now non-existent."

The four knights began glow and then turn into orbs of energy. The four orbs rocketed up and crash into Merlin. The old wizard grew to be about fifty feet tall and became clad in black armor. He then pointed his staff at the wall of the center tower. A large mirror then faded into existence. The Ronins all wondered what could he need a mirror for.

"Be on guard, chaps. Merlin was known as very powerful sorcerer," said Bastion.

Merlin's staff then shifted into a simple double-edged sword. Atticus and Bastion broke off from the others. The old wizard moved to bring his sword down onto them but the two blue warriors evaded it and jumped onto his arm. They ran up the giant's arm, Bastion rapidly releasing arrows while Atticus slashed at Merlin's large arm. Merlin brought around his other hand to swat away the two small warriors but said boys managed to jump away before the large hand came down on the wizard large arm. Merlin then stabbed the sword into the ground reached out and grabbed Bastion and Atticus. The wizard then forcefully clapped his hands together, causing the Ronins to crash into each other's back. He pulled his hands away and did it again and again and again. At this point, Bastion and Atticus were out cold. Merlin then turned to face the center tower in the courtyard. The two began to glow with their respective colors and were zapped into the mirror. The old wizard returned his attention back to the three remaining warriors.

"What did you do to them?!" Jaden demanded.

"I have sent them inside my mirror. They are now my prisoners as you will be soon enough," Merlin replied.

"Fat chance of that, old man! THUNDER BOLT CUT!"

"IRON ROCK CRUSHER!"

Merlin grabbed his sword and it quickly shifted back to a staff. The orb began to glow and launched a small energy ball that grew and split open. The now open orb caught the attacks as it enveloped the two and reflected their own attacks back at them. The energy ball completely surrounded the green and orange Ronins and, like Bastion and Atticus before them, zapped into the mirror. After witnessing Bastion Atticus, and just recently, Hassleberry and Chazz being absorbed into the mirror above, Jaden glared at the old magician, silently promising endless amounts of pain.

"You're gonna pay for that!"

Jaden connected his swords together and jumped into the air and radiated with power.

"FLARE UP, NOW!"

He slashed down at the Merlin. The area surrounding the wizard was decimated as he was enveloped by the attack. When it had faded the ground and nearby walls appeared to be scorched and melted but Merlin was unharmed.

"He didn't even flinch!" said Jaden as he landed.

"Your resistance is useless. You're tired and weak from fighting so many adversaries. Surrender and I will be merciful."

Merlin raised his sword and slashed down, firing an energy blade at the young warrior. Thinking quickly, Jaden brought two fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly. Just before the energy blade struck, a blur zipped by and grabbed Jaden. Merlin followed the blur's path to find the red Ronin riding a white tiger.

"Thanks a lot, White Blaze," the boy said.

Jaden was now worried. with his friends locked away in the magic mirror and his sure-kill attack proven useless against the wizard, what can he do to win? Things where looking very grim.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

A/N: Part two is now complete. What do you think so far?


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ronin Warriors or Yu-Gi-Oh GX. If I did this entire story would be canon._

Chapter 9

Merlin gazed down at the remaining Ronin Warrior.

"You might as well give up. You're all alone now, Jaden of Wildfire."

"No way! I'll never give in. I will rescue my friends and defeat you. So long as my spirit burns, I'll find a way." (A/N: that sounded kinda cheesy, didn't it?)

Merlin snorted.

"Then I'll just have to break that spirit. And I'm going to use the power of your comrades to do it."

"What do you mean by that?"

Merlin held his sword up and brought his other hand back so that he stood in a strange stance. Golden energy began swirl around in a ball right in front of the edge of Merlin's sword.

"Power of Strata, ARROW SHOCKWAVE!"

"That's Bastion's move!" Jaden said, surprised.

An arrow of light shot forward. Thinking quickly, White Blaze jumped into the air, narrowly avoiding the attack.

"That was too close, good going, boy," Jaden said to his tiger friend.

"I've only just started, boy," Merlin declared, holding his sword above his head. The clouds above swirled and lightning enveloped the blade.

"Power of Halo, THUNDER BOLT CUT!"

The wizard swung his sword down, launching a familiar wave of energy at the two. They managed to jump out of the way but when the attack collided with the wall, the resulting shockwave knocked Jaden off his tiger companion, slamming him into another wall. Jaden stood up holding his side.

"Ugh, that's gonna leave a mark," Jaden groaned.

He looked up to see Merlin's sword had changed back into a staff. The wizard was pointing the staff's head at him while bubbles of water gathered at just above the orb.

"Uh oh"

"Power of Torrent, SUPER WAVE SMASHER!"

The storm of bubbles shot forward

"Can't dodge it!"

Jaden crossed his swords in an attempt to defend himself. Before he knew it, he was pelted mercilessly by another one of his friends' stolen attack. After it had subsided, Jaden leaned against the wall behind him, which now looked like Swiss cheese from the previous attack, for support.

"Damn, he's thrown everything at me but…"

He was cut off when Merlin swung his staff around over his head.

"Power of Hardrock, IRON ROCK CRUSHER!"

"… _That _move."

Jaden knew he had little strength to get out of the way, so he braced himself for the oncoming onslaught. The ground trembled as large chunks of earth and stone rose up and bombarded him from all sides. He slashed at some of debris in order to reduce the damage. He suddenly cried out in pain as was caught off guard when Merlin changed his staff back into a sword and fired a blade of energy at him that struck him square in the back. Jaden then, for lack of a better term, crashed to the ground in great pain.

"That was a cheap shot!" Jaden groaned out.

"I do what is necessary to achieve my objective," Merlin replied, "Now then."

Merlin pointed his sword at the injured Slifer and shot a small orb that surrounded him. Jaden was too weakened to struggle free as he was lifted off the ground and floated to the mirror that kept his comrades imprisoned. He turned slightly to look at the scared and worried face of Alexis Rhodes. He promised her that he would protect her no matter what and he let her down.

"I'm sorry, Lex."

Those were his last words as he was drawn into the mirror.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Alexis fell to her knees and looked at the ground in shock and disbelief, tears were forming in her eyes.

"No, he-he can't be gone. Jaden… … JAAADEEEN!" Alexis broke down crying.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

"There has to be someway to help them. Can't we do anything?" Ms. Fontaine said.

"What _can_ we do? We can't match that wizard's power and he knows it. It would take a miracle," Sheppard said solemnly.

Rowan said nothing. He couldn't shake this strong feeling of déjà vu.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

_Inside the mirror_

Jaden drifted down the black void. He was in too much pain to even move. He mustered all the strength he had left just to open his eyes. Far below him was his four fellow warriors, lying down, fast asleep, perhaps trapped in some kind of spell. He closed his eyes once more, as he was gently let down onto the ground in a sitting position in a spot where his friends surrounded him. Jaden slumped forward as sleep claimed him.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

"Your protectors have been dealt with. You are coming with me, Alexis Rhodes."

Alexis said nothing as she got up. She kept her head lowered and began to walk forward. Her friends noticed this in an instant and ran to stop her.

"Wait Alexis, you're not seriously going with this guy, are you?" Mindy said.

"What choice do I have?"

"Come on, we'll find a way to take this guy down," Blair joined

"No," Alexis whispered.

"But Alexis…" Jasmine tried to reason with her friend.

"No!"

Her friends were taken back by this outburst. She looked at them with tears in her eyes.

"Bastion, Hassleberry, Chazz, Atticus, Jaden, they gave their lives for me. I don't want that to happen to you guys, too."

Just when a lone tear struck the ground, a strange and powerful feeling surged through Alexis' body. A light began to shine out where her heart would be. A small round crystal then appeared before her. Her Obelisk uniform was replaced with the white dress from her dream as well as the crescent moon mark on her forehead. All her friends looked on in shock and awe, even Merlin was stunned at this strange display. She then looked up at the mirror.

"Jaden"

A thin beam of light shot forward from the crystal and stuck the mirror.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Once again, we are back to where the two cats sat on the windowsill.

"That last surge allowed me to pinpoint it," the male voice said.

"Great job, where is it?" the female voice said.

"An island in the southern sea, it has to be Duel Academy."

"Then we better hurry over there."

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

_Inside the mirror_

As he sat there in defeat, Jaden's closed eyes twitched when he heard the sound of metal clinking together. It was a sound he was pretty familiar with.

"Ancient, please, let me rest. I don't have the strength to continue."

_"Jaden of Wildfire, you have fought well, but the battle isn't over, not yet."_

"Even if I could continue, how could I escape from this place?"

A small glimmer shined in the distance. Jaden lifted his head to see.

_"It seems the one you deeply care for has provided your way out."_

"Alexis"

_"I remember your predecessor was in a situation not too dissimilar from yours. Even when things seem completely hopeless, even when I had given up, he refused to surrender."_

"Ancient, what can I do? I've tried everything but I failed."

_"You try and you fail, you try and you fail, but heed this, young Wildfire, the true failure is when you stop trying."_

"You mean… what you're saying is…"

"_Try again."_

The Ancient vanished after his words of wisdom. Jaden hung his head for a moment but then raised it up, determination burning in his eyes. He stabbed his sword into the ground to act as a support as he shakily lifted himself up.

"He's right, I can't give up. I have to keep going."

An image of all his friends appeared in his mind.

"For them."

Then an image of Alexis with her warm, beautiful smile.

"For her!"

"I… I… I am still a Ronin Warrior!"

The red kanji 'Virtue' shined brightly on his forehead. He then looked down at his comrades. He started to recall Rowan's words before the battle started.

'The armors may have great power individually, but they have an even greater secret power when they work as one.'

An idea then formed in his mind.

"Bastion, Chazz, Atticus, Hassleberry, please, I need your help, my friends. We can't let it end like this."

Each of his friends' respective kanji began to glow as well. He began to feel new power envelop him. The kanji on his forehead shifted from red to white. Red flames then surrounded him and his fellow Ronins.

"Search for the truth. Faith in the people. I fight for Justice with Grace. That is my way!"

Jaden then took off like a rocket with his four unconscious friends in tow.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

Five different colored streams shot out from the mirror. The red stream landed not too far away from Merlin whilst the green, orange, light blue and royal blue ones crashed to the ground. The red one revealed Jaden standing and ready for round two.

"You certainly are a glutton for punishment," Merlin said.

"It's Jaden, he's okay!" Alexis cried out in joy and relief.

The other streams revealed Chazz and the others looking worse for wear. They all groaned in pain as they began to wake up. With the exception of Alexis who seemed glued to her spot, the rest of their friends rushed over to help the down warriors. Before they reached them, the armors of the four warriors began to glow. Suddenly, four streams of light shot out from the boys and crashed into Jaden. The young Ronin Slifer was then engulfed in a bright red fire. Within the flames, they could see the five Ronin traits, Virtue, Justice, Wisdom, Trust, Life Force glowing brightly while they floated in a circle. Slowly the red blaze began to turn pale until it was stark white. The fire then began to flick around rapidly. Merlin voiced everyone's question.

"What is going on?"

When the fire dispersed, Jaden stood tall with his swords crossed in front of him but he was wearing different armor. This new armor resembled Jaden's red Wildfire armor with a quite a few key differences. One major difference was that this armor was white. The usually white under gear was now black. The helmet had a faceguard and five fins on the back of the head in sort of a sun design and a red crown atop the forehead. The bladed horns and fins on the forearms were now golden. The shoulder armor was white on the bottom with black on top and a red stripe running in between. Half of the armor on the forearms was red while the other half was white. The area around the abdomen that was blue was now black. A small section between the chest and stomach was blue. The armor on the shins was (of course) white with three spikes running down and the white armor on the feet had two spikes.

Needless to say, both friends and foe were surprised

"What-What sorcery is this?!"

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

"What just happened?" Mindy asked as she cradled Chazz's head. She then heard Chazz chuckle.

"Typical Jaden, always gotta be the hero," Chazz said with a small grin.

"Where do you think that new armor came from?" Hassleberry asked.

"Who knows, but let's just hope it has enough power to beat this wizard." Bastion added.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

"What is that?" Sheppard was completely stunned at this new development.

"_That_ would be your miracle." Rowan said with pride

"Mr. Hashiba, are you saying you know what that is?"

"Yeah and I gotta say, it's been a long time since I've seen it last."

"Well, what is it?" Crowler was getting anxious.

"Jaden Yuki has just become the next wielder of the Armor of Inferno."

"Armor of… Inferno?" Bonaparte repeated.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

"Merlin, I'll show you that my spirit is not so easy to break."

The wizard then regained his composure and narrowed his eyes at the boy.

"It makes little difference of what color you are wearing; the result will be the same!"

Merlin swung his sword and fired another blade of energy at Jaden. Jaden jumped away. He fired another but Jaden avoided it with ease. And another but was evaded again. Now, Jaden stood right in front of the giant sorcerer.

"I have you now, boy!"

Merlin brought his blade down on the small white Ronin. Jaden crossed his swords and surprisingly, stopped the strike.

"Guess again!"

"What?!"

The old magician was stunned that even though he himself was ten times the boy's size, his attack was easily blocked. Jaden let out a grunt of effort and pushed the wizard back. While Merlin was trying to regain his footing and get over his shock of the boy's unusual show of strength, Jaden saw his chance and connected the hilts of his swords together; a flash of power surged through them. New words entered his mind out of nowhere.

"RAGE!"

He then broke them apart and crossed the blades. Another flash of power surged through them again.

"OF!"

He jumped into the air, holding his swords high as he radiated ten times more power then ever before. Merlin had a look of terror on his face.

"INFERNO!"

He slashed down as a huge white surge of power shot forth. The blast smashed into the wizard with great force and slammed him into the mirror. More power erupted from the now white armored boy as he let out a battle cry and pushed even more strength into his attack. The extra force smashed the old wizard through the castle walls and it looked as if he had been vaporized. The blast began to sail upwards into the clouds as the castle began to crumble. He began to hear a voice in his head.

"Your strength, your conviction has won this battle. I will accept my defeat with dignity but… I must ask you of something, young warrior. My king has come to believe that your friend is his lost love, as you know. I've tried to convince him otherwise, but he won't listen to me or anyone else. Please, save him from his madness."

The surge of power had finally subsided and Jaden began to float down. Alexis quickly ran to where Jaden was going to land, despite having some difficulty running in the dress. The young Ronin landed three feet away from her and the two white clad youths gazed at each other. The white armor burst into flames and Jaden returned to his usual red armor. He stumbled a bit then fell to his knees. His armor shattered into sakura petals, leaving him in his sub-armor. He then fell forward; Alexis caught him before he hit the ground.

"Jaden," Alexis said as she rested the boy's head on her lap.

"Hey Lex, I'm sorry if I worried you," Jaden said in a weak voice.

"It's alright I'm just glad you're okay," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

The young Ronin then noted the girl's new attire.

"Nice outfit."

Alexis huffed a little.

"Not funny, Jaden."

"No, I mean it. It looks good on you."

Alexis blushed a little in response.

Jaden then chuckled a bit, "I don't know why but I suddenly feel really… really… … sleepy."

At that moment, Jaden was out like a light. The strange jewel that appeared before Alexis floated towards her chest and vanished into her heart. The dress also faded away, leaving her in her school uniform again. A wave of fatigue washed over Alexis as she slumped to the side and passed out as well. Their friends approached the two sleeping teens, all wondering: 'just what the hell is going on?' That jewel, Alexis' unusual change of attire, and Jaden getting that mysterious new white armor. Perhaps Rowan had some answers.

_**Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x Yoroi x**_

A/N: I've wanted to post this chapter for a while now. I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I had making it. Next chapter will be a Q&A chapter, If some of you have a few questions for me, send them via PM or review, your choice and I'll do what I can to answer. Questions will not be accepted after June 13.


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this fic except the plot._

Chapter 10

_Dark Chamber_

"I would never have thought Merlin could have been defeated."

Arthur watched the battle replay in a cauldron over and over. Another knight stepped forward.

"My liege, shall we launch another strike?"

"No, we'll pull back for now."

"Sire?"

"We had greatly underestimated these samurai if they were able to defeat Merlin. We'll take this time to formulate a better strategy."

Arthur scowled at the repeating image of Jaden donning white armor and soundly defeating his mentor and the woman he desired possessing a powerful jewel. All the while never noticing his prized sword was glowing.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Jaden found himself awakening to a white ceiling. He felt so sore and tired he couldn't tell which was worse, the pain or the exhaustion.

"Hey, welcome back."

Jaden turned to the side to find Alexis gazing back at him.

"Thanks"

"How do you feel?"

Jaden shifted a bit in his bed.

"Like I ran 20 miles before I got hit by a bus. Other than that, I'm good."

Alexis chuckled at his antics and wiped a single tear away.

"What's wrong?"

Alexis kept wiping her eyes.

"Nothing, I'm just glad you and everyone is okay."

Jaden lifted himself into a sitting position. Alexis moved forward for him to lay back down. When he looked up and his eyes met hers, the pain had become the last thing on his mind. The two gazed at each other for some time, neither said a word.

"Jay! You're awake!"

Jaden and Alexis turned to the doorway. There stood Syrus and the other Ronins.

"Hey Sy, what's up? How long was I out of it?"

"You've been out for four days."

"Four days, huh? I bet Crowler's not too happy about that."

"Yeah, by the way Jaden, you wouldn't happen to feel like you've seen the light, have you?"

Jaden and Alexis looked at each other in confusion.

"Um no," Jaden said tautly.

"For a while I thought the Society of Light was back." Syrus sighed in relief.

"Why?"

"When I saw that white armor and Alexis in that white outfit, I thought that it was going to be a repeat of last year."

"Sy, It was my armor that protected me from Sartorius' control. You all remember when I couldn't see my cards, right?"

Everyone nodded in response.

"Well, just before my cards looked blank to me, I was in some kind of dark place. In front of me was this bright light coming at me. Before it hit me, my Wildfire armor appeared and blocked it and then… well, you all know the rest."

Chazz shrugged and then the mood got serious.

"So Jaden, what was the deal with that white armor? Was that also one of the nine armors you told us about?"

"Yeah sarge, that armor was unreal. You blasted that wizard to kingdom come!"

Jaden gave his friends a serious gaze.

"I…"

Everyone anxiously inched forward.

"…haven't a clue."

And then they all face-vaulted.

"What you all saw that day was the Armor of Inferno."

Everyone looked to the door of the infirmary. Standing in the door was their ex-Ronin Warrior mentor, Rowan.

"Inferno?" Chazz asked.

"Yep, think of it as your secret weapon."

"Is this another one of those nine armors Jaden told us about?" asked Syrus.

"No it's not. I don't know all that much about the Inferno myself. What I can tell you is the armor can only be worn by someone with a heart of virtue, in this case it's Jaden."

"Awesome!"

"It's not a toy, Jaden. In fact, don't use that armor unless you have to. It is strictly a last resort tactic." Rowan chided Jaden.

"Why? With sarge and that mega-armor, we could beat back anyone those knights throw at us."

"True, however, that armor puts a tremendous strain on the wearer's body. I'm sure you all probably still feel it, the extreme fatigue. The Armor of Inferno can be dangerous to its enemies as well as its wearer. If you're not careful, using it in succession without recovering could kill you. The best thing for you all to do is rest and get your strength back."

Jaden figured the veteran warrior knew what he was talking about and laid back down. Rowan turned his attention to the others.

"Why don't you all go on back to your dorms. Right now Jaden needs to rest and so does the rest of you."

Everyone nodded and walked out the door, save for Alexis.

"Say um, Rowan? You wouldn't happen to know anything about some kind of magical jewel, would you?"

"Depends, what did it look like?"

"About the size and shape of a golf ball. It looked like something close to a diamond."

"No sorry."

"Thanks anyway."

With that, Alexis left for her dorm.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Alexis laid on her bed as she ran through everything she had been told in her mind.

'So that white armor Jaden has is called 'Inferno.' I still have no idea on what that jewel was. The power I felt from it was incredible but…'

"I wish somebody could tell me what's going on."

"I believe we can help you with that," a feminine voice said.

Alexis sat up and looked around her room. Nobody was here but her.

"Over here."

Alexis turned to see to cats on her windowsill. One was black and the other was white. They both had a golden crescent moon mark on their foreheads, like she did before.

"Hello" the black cat spoke. Wait, 'spoke'?

"AHHHHHH!"

"I know this might come as a bit of shock to you."

"Shock?! I'm officially freaked out!"

"If you would let us, we can explain the whole thing," the white one now spoke.

"It's official, I've lost my mind. I could deal with Duel Monster spirits. Brainwashing cults I can handle. I don't mind that four of my friends and my brother have magic armor and some guy that thinks I'm his dead wife, but I draw the line at talking cats!"

After a few minutes, Alexis finally calmed down

"My name is Luna and this is Artemis," the black cat, Luna said then gestured to her white companion.

"I'm Alexis Rhodes"

"We are here because of the Imperium Silver Crystal you hold."

"The what?"

"The Imperium Silver Crystal, a jewel of great power."

"You mean the weird jewel that came out of my body?"

"Yes. You see, a thousand years ago there was a kingdom on the moon and peace prospered throughout the galaxy. When a terrible force attacked it, the ruler at that time had cast a spell and sealed the enemy away as well as send the princess and her court to be reincarnated in the future on earth at the cost of her life. At some point, we found the princess and her court and fought that same force from centuries ago and some other foes as well. Things were peaceful up until a few years ago when the moon princess was in a terrible accident. When she arrived at the hospital, the doctors said that her consciousness was slipping fast and she could go into a coma. She would be unable to protect herself and the crystal so she needed to place it somewhere safe. So she performed an old practice."

"What kind of practice?"

"You know the concept of a body double, right?"

Alexis nodded.

"The practice called for her to place the crystal in the care of someone pure-hearted even if it was without their knowledge. That person would be the acting princess until the real one had fully recovered. In other words, for the time being _you_ are the moon princess."

"WHAT!?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elsewhere in dark room, a lone cloaked figure sat on an ornate chair. The contours of the body indicated it was a woman. She waved her hand continuously as she gazed at a crystal ball before her.

"Morgan le Fey, my dear sister, it's so good to see you again."

She gazed up at the equally cloaked person who had appeared. The tone of the voice suggested that this person too was a woman.

"Morgause, it has been too long"

The woman identified as Morgause chuckled.

"Sister, how is that we have returned after so long?"

"I do not know but I am searching to find out, right now."

An image of Duel Academy appeared within the crystal ball.

"I can feel it, there is tremendous power emanating from this place."

"Allow me to send a scout to investigate this great power."

With a wave of her hand, Morgause summoned up a grotesque gargoyle-like creature.

"Not exactly subtle," Morgan admonished.

"You know as well as I do that my powers have not fully awakened. Just like yours."

Morgause then turned to the monster and beckoned it to come with her.

"Where are you going?" Morgan asked.

"I want to see the source of this power with my own eyes."

And then they vanished.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Chazz Bastion Atticus and Hassleberry were carrying some boxes to the teachers' office.

"I'm still amazed by Jaden's new armor. Who'd have thought he could summon something like that," Hassleberry said.

"Technically, we ALL summon it," Bastion corrected his fellow Ra.

"I still don't get why only Jaden gets to wear it," said Chazz.

"Probably because his red armor is called Wildfire and the white one is called Inferno," Atticus suggested.

"That does sound plausible but is the Inferno even a fire-elemental armor?"

Atticus shrugged his shoulders but then regretted it as he felt a sting of pain.

"Still tender?" Chazz asked. Atticus chuckled in response.

The four continued walking until they heard a deep roar from behind them. They whipped around to find a beautiful older woman standing next to a large ugly beast.

"Who are you?" Chazz asked.

"You may address me as Morgause. Now then, perhaps you boys can tell me where I might find the source of a great power that emanated from this island?"

The boys knew she must mean Jaden's white armor.

"Hard to say. If there is a great power here, why are you looking for it?" Bastion asked.

"I intend to claim it."

Atticus pulled out his PDA and pushed a few buttons before armoring up with his fellow warriors. The boys readied their weapons, which seemed to be heavier than usual to them. Morgause looked at them in surprise then noted the weariness in their eyes and how the shakily held their weapons. She came to one conclusion.

"From the looks of it, you boys must've been in a big battle recently and aren't fully back up to snuff yet," Morgause chuckled.

The Ronins ignored her and charged forward. Morgause motioned for her pet to attack. The boys had realized too late that the woman was right. Within seconds, the monster had beaten them to the ground with ease. They felt like little kids being knocked down by the school bully.

"Any ideas?" Hassleberry asked as struggled to get up..

"I sent Jaden a message, hopefully he's in healed up enough to lend a hand," Atticus said.

"I doubt sarge is well enough to even walk let alone fight."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Mindy and Jazz barged into Alexis' room, uneasiness was clearly seen in their eyes.

"Jazz, Mindy, What's wrong?"

"It's the guys. Some freaky monster showed up while they were still weakened and knocked them down.

"Is it those knights again?"

"It doesn't look like it. But the worst part is that now Jaden's heading out to fight it!"

"What's Jaden thinking!? He's in no condition to be fighting," Mindy

"That's what we told him but he wouldn't listen."

"We've got to stop him before he gets hurt even more."

"But how? Jaden is still exhausted from the last fight and the others are out of it."

Jazz and Mindy then saw a black walk in between them and gazed up at Alexis.

"I believe I can help you in that area."

"WAAAAGH! A TALKING CAT?!" Mindy and Jazz screamed.

"I'll explain later," Alexis told them.

"If you're serious about going then you better take this."

Luna did a back flip and a pink heart-shaped locket materialized. Alexis reached out and picked up the odd item.

"What's this?" she asked.

"It's a special locket that will grant you magical powers to aid you in battle," Artemis answered.

"ANOTHER TALKING CAT?!" Mindy shouted.

"I told you I would explain later."

"To activate it, call out 'Moon Prism Power."

Alexis look at the heart locket and mentally shrugged.

"MOON PRISM POWER!"

Everything around Alexis seemed to instantly freeze. Her uniform had vanished. Reddish ribbons shot out of the locket and wrapped around her body. The ribbons then changed into a white leotard with a blue sailor collar and a pink bow over the chest. More ribbons appeared and wrapped her arms. These turned into white elbow length gloves. Even more ribbons appeared and wrapped around her legs. They had solidified into knee high pink boots. A blue pleated mini skirt had formed around her waist. A golden tiara then formed on her forehead while a pink choker formed. Lastly, gold earrings and feather-like hair clips materialized to complete it. (A/N: just to let you all know beforehand, all the scouts uniforms are going to be based on the live-action TV series.)

Alexis looked at herself in the mirror and became almost instantly embarrassed.

"What is this?" Alexis asked trying to pull the skirt down.

"Right now, you are Sailor Moon, the champion of love and justice," Luna answered.

"Champion of love and justice'? That sounded way too corny. Do I have to wear this get-up? If Atticus saw me in this, I'd never hear the end of it," Alexis said.

"I think it looks cute, where can I get one?" Mindy said.

She never got her answer. Luna urged Alexis to head out. Taking the cat's advice she ran out of the room, leaving her two friends behind.

"Sailor Moon, where have I heard that before?" Jazz said to herself.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Jaden had limped to the battle. He saw his friends lying on the ground, defeated. He then noted the cause of it all, glaring at him with a smug grin.

"**ARE YOU GOING TO FIGHT ME, TOO?"**

Jaden answered by drawing his swords. He then took a step forward and stumbled a little before regaining his bearings. The gargoyle saw this and laughed.

"**YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS? YOU'RE WORSE SHAPE THEN THOSE FOUR!"**

Jaden ignored the beast and attacked.

Morgause watched the battle from atop a hill.

"Challenging my little pet while he's wounded and weak, I don't know if he's very brave or very foolish."

"So that thing belongs to you?" a female voice called out.

Morgause turned towards the voice. There stood Alexis in her new attire, Morgause was hardly intimidated.

"What are you supposed to be?"

"The girl who's going to beat you."

Morgause snorted and threw a bolt of lightning at her. Thinking quickly, Alexis jumped to the side, narrowly missing the attack. The sorceress quirked an eyebrow and fired another only to be met with the same result. Next she fired three in succession, the new sailor scantly avoided each strike. Alexis turned to her feline companion.

"Luna, what can I use to fight back?"

"Hold your hand up to your forehead and call out 'Moon Tiara Boomerang."

Alexis followed as instructed.

"MOON TIARA BOOMERANG!"

The tiara removed itself from her forehead and reformed in her hand. Alexis eyed the objet with interest. As the name suggested, the tiara had taken the shape of a boomerang.

"Okay I think I can work with this."

Alexis pulled her arm back to throw as the headgear turned 'weapon' began to glow. She wasted no time and threw the boomerang at her target. Morgause raised her hand to catch the incoming object, only to miss it as it struck her in the shoulder. Morgause skidded back five feet, clutching her shoulder, before coming to a stop. She removed her hand from the stricken area to see a good-sized gash. She returned her gaze to the young girl.

"And here I thought this was going to be boring," Morgause said in a smug tone.

The boomerang returned to its original place on Alexis' forehead. She ran her fingers across it. Her expression was one of awe and confusion. She was surprised she could fight back with such an odd tool, but puzzled that her attack didn't have the same bite as the Ronin boys.

Speaking of which, Jaden continued to try and defeat the sorceress' pet but to no result. The creature in question appeared to be the future victor of this clash. Its large size and strength coupled with Jaden's fatigue guaranteed it. the gargoyle started to become annoyed.

"**GIMME A REAL FIGHT!"**

The gargoyle raised its clawed hand and struck Jaden hard across the chest. Suddenly, Jaden was silhouetted in a white energy. The armors of the other warriors began to glow and four streams of energy, each their respective color, shot out and slammed into Jaden. Morgause stopped her fight with Alexis when she had seen the strange light show.

"What's this?"

The whole world around him became deathly silent as Jaden stared down his opponent with fire spiraling within his eyes. He crossed his arms in front of him and threw them out, his armor shattering into sakura petals. Jaden watched the multiple white streams of power that rocketed around him while his red and white sub-armor darkened until it was completely black. One stream struck him on the right forearm, forming red and white armor with a golden fin protruding out. Another struck the other arm leaving another piece of identical armor. Jaden held one arm forward and fire exploded from it. When the blaze had subsided, he now had white samurai armor and helmet. He stepped back as two more streams struck one leg, leaving white armor on the knee shin and foot, then two more struck the other, leaving the same type of armor. Jaden then held his hands out to the side as his swords returned in his grip.

"ARMOR OF INFERNO!"

"What is this!? This white armor is… incredible! The light shining from it, it's so… beautiful!"

Morgause watched in fascination as her minion faced down the now white armored warrior.

"You want it so bad? Let's see if you can take it!" the Ronin Slifer shouted then backed off when the gargoyle swiped at him.

Jaden connected the hilts of his swords together; a flash of power surged through them. He then broke them apart and crossed the blades. Another flash of power surged through them again. He jumped into the air, holding his swords high as he radiated with great power.

"RAGE OF INFERNO!"

He slashed down as a huge white surge of power shot forward. Morgause raised her staff and created a magic shield and braced herself. Jaden's attack slammed into Morgause's monster, hard. Morgause gaped in awe as her pet was reduced to nothing.

"Such… power"

The sorceress pushed everything she had to maintain the shield but it wasn't enough. Cracks formed around the magic shield then in matter of seconds the shield shattered like glass and she was thrown back. When the blast died down, Morgause returned to her spot on the hill and glanced at the armor clad youth.

"I've never seen such an exquisite suit of armor. The craftsmanship, the sheer power, I must have it!"

"That will have to wait until later."

"Morgan?"

Her sister had warped in front of her to confirm her.

"It seems we found the source of that great power that resurrected us."

"Yes, that white armor, I must have that armor."

Morgause moved forward only to be stopped by Morgan's hand.

"Not now."

"But-"

"No. Besides, there is another great power near but we are not prepared to handle that kind of strength."

With that they disappeared.

When the two witches vanished, the white burst into flames, returning Jaden to his red armor. Just when his regular armor returned, Jaden was hit by a tsunami of fatigue and collapsed on the spot. Alexis, upon seeing him fall, rushed to his side.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Damn, that took a while. Personally, I think this one could've been better. Here are the current standings for sailors:

Jasmine: Mercury: 2, Mars: 2, Jupiter: 1, Venus: 0

Mindy: Mercury: 2, Mars: 0, Jupiter: 3, Venus: 0

Blair: Mercury: 1, Mars: 0, Jupiter: 0, Venus: 4

Seika: Mercury: 0, Mars: 3, Jupiter: 1, Venus: 1

Send in your votes on who should be who.


End file.
